


What We Do Now

by Itawonka



Category: DCU, Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Crossover, Crossover Pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-01-26 01:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21365668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itawonka/pseuds/Itawonka
Summary: When you are the one in 'one in a million', you'd usually think that's a good thing. In this case, Marinette wishes she was anything but. She shouldn't have been chosen, everyone around her knew that.Especially the boy who was bred to be the next victor. Damian didn't even know if he wanted to be part of this, but he was going to win. At least, he thought he would until now.Now, both were unsure, young, and isolated. But they had each other.Would that even be enough?
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 44
Kudos: 284





	1. Adverse Introductions

Panem was terrible as usual, at least in Damian’s perspective. Everyone assumed that since he was from District 2 that he was stuck up, arrogant, Capital loving, ruthless, and apathetic. If his mother had her way, he would be. Still, he managed to keep his head. Something about being taught to kill at such a young age felt inherently wrong.  
  
His grandfather was a notorious winner, killing almost every child within the first 48 hours. It was the most brutal and shortest Hunger Games to ever be broadcasted to Panem. His mother was never chosen for the games, which to most would seem lucky but for Talia this was a reason for outrage and resentment. She saw Bruce win his Hunger Games and a few years later made a point to seduce the man. He was rich, cunning, smart, and a winner. Perfect for her purposes. One night of passion and 12 years later, Damian stood at the doorstep of his father’s mansion.  
  
His mother made train with Peacekeepers, learn to effectively use every weapon, and climb mountains. The mountains were probably the hardest. As soon as he learned to walk, his mother forced him to climb. He fell and broke his wrist, but still reached the top because that was what was expected of him. He was Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson. Due to this and his deadly nature, he was nicknamed Demon Prince, even amongst the adults he trained with. If he was ever put into the games, there was no doubt he’d be the victor.  
  
Still, despite all of that, standing at the door of this building made him slightly apprehensive. Still, he showed no fear as his mother knocked on the door. “Remember why we’re here.”  
  
“To warn him that I’ll be entering the games and to learn something from a former winner.”  
  
“Good boy.” They could hear some footsteps running to the door and a large thud. The two looked at each other warily and their confusion only grew when a short, mixed-raced girl opened the door disheveled. She looked at the two, she was rubbing her head and her ponytails were a bit uneven from whatever fall she just took, but she smiled nonetheless.  
  
“I’m sorry for the wait, who are you?” Her question was innocent enough, but Damian felt Talia tense beside him. Damian briefly wondered if his father even knew they were coming when he noticed the girl staring at him. She seemed to be in shock, the more she analyzed his features the more her eyes seemed to widen.  
  
A man’s voice soon echoed in the room, “Marinette, what are you-” A large man with dark hair came into view and he froze as soon as he saw Damian’s mother. “Talia?”  
  
“Bruce. There’s someone I want you to meet, love.” Talia pushed Damian forward and Marinette stepped out of the way, simply looking between the two.  
  
“Talia, what is-”  
  
“I assure you, he is yours.”  
  
Bruce just blinked and examined Damian while Damian simply put a hand on his hip. His expression showed that he was unimpressed, “Don’t look so surprised father. I thought you’d be taller.”  
  
A snort coming from the girl by the door seemed to immediately break the tension. Damian looked back and raised an eyebrow and Marinette coughed to regain her composure. She motioned for Talia to enter, “I’m sorry. I’m sure you all have a lot to talk about. Please, come in.”  
  
Now it was Talia’s turn to send Bruce a confused look, clearly referring to Marinette and Bruce just sighed, “We have a lot to discuss Talia.”  
  
“It would seem so, love.” Bruce motioned for her to follow him and before Damian could do the same, Talia held out her hand. “The adults are talking, Damian. We’ll find you once we’re done.”  
  
He watched Bruce’s neutral expression falter into somewhat of a scowl before he turned to Marinette, “Go introduce him to Alfred and the others. We’ll be out soon.”  
  
Marinette nodded, “Okay.” She turned to Damian and bounced in place, “They’ll be so excited!”  
  
“Who is ‘they’ exactly?”  
  
Marinette grinned and grabbed the boy’s hand, “Come on! It’ll just be better to show you! I think they’re in the gym!” Damian wanted to pull away, but her grip was tight and he needed her to guide him. He didn’t know his father’s relationship with this girl, but clearly she was welcomed here so he had to make sure he made a good impression.  
  
She led him through some corridors and soon he started to hear some shouting and about eight other voices. A mix of men and women and he wondered just how many people his father had living with him in this house. Marinette watched him as she pushed the doors open and he came to an unusual sight. It certainly was a big gym, almost as big as the training grounds for the Peacekeepers in District 2, and people were scattered around. A blonde and a redhead were cheering on another girl as she threw axes in a simulation. Two men wrestled while one seemed to be a referee. And lastly, an older man talked to the only calm young man in the room. They seemed to be the only two sane ones. For some reason, they all looked familiar.  
  
Then the girl beside him screeched, “HEY, BRUCE BROUGHT HOME ANOTHER ONE!” Damian glared at the girl as he made sure his eardrums were still intact, but everyone else in the room froze. The girls stopped the simulation, the men stopped wrestling and picked themselves up off the mat, and the two other men stopped talking. All eyes were on him. Marinette shoved him forward and motioned him to walk further into the room. Damian simply took a few steps in and nodded politely to the group.  
  
The room erupted.  
  
“What the hell?”  
  
“Was he a winner?”  
  
“Last year?”  
  
“Wasn’t last year’s winner 15?”  
  
“He’s not 15?”  
  
“No way, he’s a fucking baby! Look at him!”  
  
“Jason, seriously?”  
  
The only one not to cause an immediate outcry was the old man. He simply walked up, looked him up and down, and hummed, “You’re the spitting image of your father. What’s your name?”  
  
“Damian Wayne.”  
  
Everyone screamed, “WHAT?”  
  
The old man ignored the chaos behind him and bowed, “Alfred Pennyworth. At your service Master Damian.”  
  
Damian politely bowed back and looked at the group still bickering, “Are they the rest of the servants?”  
  
The shortest man looked over and scrunched up his nose, “Servants? Oh, no, no, no, no. We’re your family.” Damian blinked and his eyebrows shot straight up. He knew his father was a bit of a playboy back in the day, but this was ridiculous. The man seemed to read his mind because he soon added, “Adopted, Damian. We’re all adopted.”  
  
Marinette came up beside him and started pointing, “That one there is Dick. He’s the oldest and he’s originally from District 4.” The man smiled and saluted Damian.  
  
“That one there is Barbara, District 2.” The redhead smiled and nodded.  
  
“Jason, District 8.”  
  
He smirked, “Jason Todd. Get it memorized.”  
  
Marinette rolled her eyes, “Tim, District 3.” The shortest shrugged and awkwardly waved.  
  
“Stephanie, District 5.” The blonde girl sent over a bright smile and a more enthusiastic wave.  
  
“Duke, District 6.” The other calm man nodded and smiled.  
  
“And Cass, District 7.” The one holding the axe waved it as if it was her hand.  
  
Damian nodded, “Damian Wayne. District 2.”  
  
Stephanie perked up, “I’m sorry, but are you a winner?”  
  
“A winner?”  
  
“A winner. Victor. Of the games?” Damian blinked and then it all hit him. They were all former victors. He watched their games at least once each as research. The lack of response must’ve been enough of an answer, “Oh jeez, he didn’t know.”  
  
Dick rubbed the back of his neck and walked up to Damian, “Look, Damian. We aren’t going to hurt you or anything like that. I know, it’ scary being with… us, but-”  
  
“So do you all still remember how to fight?”  
  
No one was expecting that. “I’m sorry?”  
  
“Damian.” Everyone looked back saw Talia and Bruce standing in the doorway. Bruce’s scowl front and center.  
  
Jason spoke up first, “You’ve only been here like 15 minutes and you already pissed him off? Nice!”  
  
Bruce sent a quick glare Jason’s way before turning his attention back to Damian. “We should talk.”  
  
Damian didn’t care for his tone. “About?”  
  
Talia walked over and put a hand on her son’s shoulder, “He is going.”  
  
“No, he’s not.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s for you to decide.”  
  
Barbara walked over to Bruce’s side and looked between the two, “Going where? He just got here.”  
  
Bruce didn’t take his eyes off of Talia. He knew better. “Talia here tells me Damian is volunteering for the next Hunger Games.”  
  
The air in the gym quickly shifted and there was a heavy silence until a flying axe flew across the room, barely missing Talia and hitting the far wall. Cass yelled, “Like hell he is!”  
  
“Damn right, you can’t do that to a kid! That’s fucked up!” More cries of protest came from all around them, but Talia didn’t even falter. Damian was surprised that Marinette was one of the only ones who didn’t say anything. She just stared at him, in shock or in pity was anyone’s guess. Instead, she bit her lip and, weirdly enough, he could feel her concern for him. It felt bittersweet.  
  
“Talia-”  
  
“Damian, tell your father what you want.”  
  
Damian straightened up and, in a demanding voice while pointing at Dick, yelled, “I want to win. Like he did! Like you did! Like they all did!” He frowned, “I want to win.” Talia smiled at her son, but there was no warmth behind it.  
  
Bruce just bit the inside of his cheek and glared at Talia. She simply smirked, “By the time of the next reaping, Damian will be twelve and therefore eligible for the games. If ‘luck’ should have it, he will be chosen. Trust me, as Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson, the odds will most definitely be in his favor.” Talia’s tone oozed arrogance and poison. Bruce knew even if Damian did decide not to go, Ra’s power runs too deep. His name will be pulled, no matter what.  
  
Bruce pursed his lips together, “Kids.” Everyone turned to Bruce as he narrowed his eyes at Talia, “We’re going to start Damian’s training. Tim and Steph, assess him. Dick, Barbara, Duke, start setting up challenges. Jason and Cass, get ready to fight.”  
  
Talia raised an eyebrow and Bruce narrowed his eyes at the woman, “I know you, Talia. You want me to train him? Fine, but only because he’s my son and he will live with me after he’s won.”  
  
“And what makes you say that?”  
  
“You gave him my last name, for one. I think I have a bit of power here.”  
  
Talia smirked and nodded, she’d never admit she missed their banter. She turned to Damian and kissed his forehead, “Train well. You’re in good hands. I’ll be there for the reaping.” He nodded and they all watched as she left the room.  
  
Barbara growled, “Bitch.”  
  
Bruce looked around, “What are you waiting for? He wants to be part of the games, let’s make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”  
  
The kids all looked hesitant but still left to set up everything. Bruce glared at his son before it morphed into a look of pity. He sighed and began talking to Alfred.  
  
Damian bit his lip, wondering what exactly this training would entail when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over to find Marinette watching him with concern, “Yes?”  
  
“Are you sure? Is this really what you want?”  
  
Damian nodded and looked over at everyone working around the gym, “I’m going in the games whether I like it or not. I’m expected to win.”  
  
“But is it what you want?”  
  
“I want to prove my worth.”  
  
She paused for a bit before sighing, “I don’t think you need to be a winner for people to see your worth.”  
  
Damian blinked and turned his attention back to her, “Who are you anyway?”  
  
She pursed her lips, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. District 9. I had a friend in District 8 who sent me spare fabric and my designs caught the attention of some people in the capital. After some hopping around with different projects, I ended up here as a designer for Barbara. She’s going to be a mentor for the District. It probably means she’s your mentor. She wanted to look good in front of everyone in the capital.”  
  
“So you want to be a stylist?”  
  
“I want my work to be enjoyed by people who value it.” Her answer caught him off guard, but what caught him more off guard was how young she looked.  
  
“How old are you?”  
  
“I’ll be twelve in a month.”  
  
“You’ll be in the next reaping too, then.”  
  
“I’m terrified.”  
  
“It’s highly unlikely that you’d be selected your first year. Your name is only entered once the first time around.”  
  
“You don’t get it.” Damian waited for her to continue and he watched as her eyes start to water, “Luck is all I have. If there’s a one in a million chance for something, I’m usually that one. Good or bad, it happens. I have a really bad feeling this year and I just-”  
  
“You’re jumping to conclusions.”  
  
“Am I?” She was looking to him for reassurance.  
  
They stared at each other for a moment and when he opened his mouth to say something, Dick’s voice carried across the room. “Hey!” The two looked over and he was standing beside a wall of weapons, “Pick your poison. Training starts now, hotshot.”  
  
Damian nodded and before he could move, he felt Marinette reach out and squeeze his arm slightly before letting him go. Damian cursed under his breath. Her ‘bad feeling’ was contagious, at least that’s what he told himself.


	2. Late Nights

Drenched in sweat, Damian found himself having flashbacks to training with the peacekeepers. His father watching over him like his mother and grandfather before him. “Let’s call it a day.” 

“I can keep going.” 

“What you could do is shower. Seriously. It’ll do us all a favor.” Dick held out his hand and Damian begrudgingly accepted his help. 

He raised his arm and smelled himself, “Nah.” 

Dick laughed, “You’re disgusting.” 

Damian smirked and dodged the hand that threatened to mess with his hair. It became a habit of a few brave souls to ruffle his hair a bit. It would be endearing if it wasn’t so annoying. Damian would never admit he liked it. “Fine, I’ll shower. Happy?” 

“Ecstatic.” Dick picked up some of the practice weapons off the mat and began to put them away while Damian looked around the room. He didn’t even notice the others leave. 

“You know you didn’t have to keep going. I didn’t realize how late it got.” 

“Of course I do. I have the stamina and you need the practice. I’m not letting you get thrown into the games without doing anything about it.” 

There was a sad tone to that last part. Damian couldn’t help but ask, “What happened? After you got picked?” 

There were a few moments of silence before Dick let out a heavy sigh, “I prayed I wasn’t going to get picked. My parents were being harassed by some people and we held our own up to that point. We were street performers. I was an only child. When I got picked I remember my mom fainted and my dad just held her while they took me on stage. I went into the games and I fought so hard because I knew I needed to get back to her. Plus, if I won they wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore since winners get housing and all the other bell and whistles. At least that’s what I hoped for.” 

“What happened? Why aren’t you with them?” 

Dick’s face grew uncharacteristically grim, “Those guys harassing us? Yeah, they totally got my parents killed. I don’t know how or why but knowing them, they were probably too busy worrying about me to notice anything was off until it was too late. Imagine my face when I get back to find out the two people I was fighting to get back to were both dead.” He shook his head, “I don’t know what I would’ve done without Bruce picking me up. I probably wouldn’t be me right now.” 

Damian didn’t say a word. He didn’t really know what to say to that. His grandfather was practically a god among men, untouchable. His mother was just as indestructible. Even his father seemed to be sturdy enough to go against the world. Losing someone like that, he couldn’t even imagine it. Dick must’ve sensed this awful feeling in the pit of his stomach because he put on a smile and walked over as if nothing happened. “Go shower. I’ll probably be in the game room with the others if you decide to stay up later.” 

Damian wanted to ask so many more questions, but instead he just nodded and ran off. He never really thought about how any of them even got in Bruce’s care. If they all had similar stories, how were they still acting so carefree? Even with everything handed to him, he’d never be able to live like that. Never be able to laugh and mess around like they do. Then again, maybe the loss changes people. He wouldn’t know. He quickly made his way to his personal bathroom and scrubbed hard. The pain was a welcomed distraction and if his mind went back to that conversation he was rougher. He was probably cleaner than ever before, but he felt awful. 

He changed and started roaming down some hallways, not really wanting to go see Dick just yet but unable to be left alone with his thoughts. He noted how unusually quiet the mansion was and looking outside the window he guessed it was past midnight. He didn’t realize how long he took and the realization threw him for a loop. The longer he spent in this place, the worse his mental state became. It’s only been a few weeks and the reaping was a bit over 2 months away and he didn’t know where his head was anymore. 

He aimlessly continued, taking note of the different structures like he did the first few nights he spent there. Nothing was too out of place, few things changed despite the chaos inside. He noticed a small light in the kitchen and a bit of noise. It softly echoed in the atrium and he followed it thinking it might’ve been Alfred. However, when he entered he found Marinette tapping her fingers against the island’s counter staring at the oven. He knocked slightly, knowing from experience that if he snuck up on her she’d scream. She jumped in her seat and spun her head to face him. It was weird for both of them. Both were in comfy pajamas, hair loose from their usual styles, and both looking tired. She awkwardly waved at him and he took it as an invitation to enter her space. 

He pulled into the stool next to her and looked at the oven. It was on, the light revealing some pastries inside cooking. They smelled divine. “They’re macaroons. My parents like baking and do it as a side job outside of farming. They’re very good and they teach me how to make some things.” She smiled softly, “Baking helps whenever I feel homesick.” 

Damian had only had simple conversations with this girl. The most substantial conversation they ever had happened when he initially arrived at the mansion with his mother. He didn’t know how to continue that conversation and he suspected she didn’t either. The two just stared at the oven for a few minutes before she yawned and stretched, “You know you don’t have to wait here for some. I can just save some for you.” 

Damian turned to her and shrugged, “Thanks. I’m just here because I can’t sleep.”

She hummed, “Is it the games? You’ve been training really hard since you got here.” There it was, an opening.

“The games are always on my mind. That stopped bothering me a long time ago. You?” 

She frowned, “That’s sad.” 

“What is?” 

“Your situation.” 

She finally turned to him and he finally took note of how tired this girl looked as well as how small she seemed. “I was born to be a weapon. The perfect competitor.”

“I guess if I was picked, we’d have to go against each other.” 

That’s right, she was also going to be put in the roster. She could be picked. “I guess so, but I still don’t think you’ll get picked.” 

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, “That’s a nice thought.” A small ding was heard and she got up, walked to the oven, and carefully opened the door to look at her work. She seemed satisfied and began transferring them to a wire rack set up on a nearby counter to cool. She took out some things from the fridge and cabinets before she brought over a nearby mixer. She looked up at him and smiled, “You want to help me with the buttercream?” 

Damian snorted, “I’ve only ever cooked vegetables and meats. I’ve never baked.”

“You’ll have to show me sometime. For now, I’ll show you how to do this.” She stared at him expectantly until he rolled his eyes and hopped off his stool. He walked around and found his place next to her. “Wash your hands first.”

“I just showered.” 

She placed her hands on her hips and quirked her brow. His shoulders fell and he washed his hands while grumbling to himself before drying them off and returning to his original place. She smiled and handed him some butter, “Put this in the bowl and use the mixer to beat it until it gets really light and fluffy.” 

“You act like I know how to turn this thing on.” 

“I already set it, just flip the switch once the butter’s in.” He shook his head, sure her faith in him was misplaced, but followed her instructions. She waited a minute before bringing sifting some powdered sugar over the butter. “Now add a half teaspoon of vanilla.” She handed him the vanilla extract and he was careful to add half a teaspoon exactly. “Now 3 tablespoons heavy cream.” She watched as he continued to follow her instructions with extreme accuracy. She briefly wondered if he was afraid of messing up before she shook her head and put away the used ingredients. He watched her examine the concoction until it was finally at her desired consistency. She grabbed two piping bags from a drawer and transferred the buttercream. She handed him one with a grin on her face. “This is the fun part.”

He quirked his own brow at her as she walked over and picked up a macaroon. “Still a little warm but, okay for practicing.” She brought over a few and set them down on a plate in front of him, “Now we fill and top them.” 

“Why is this the fun part?” 

“Just try it.” He was too tired to argue with her. He squeezed carefully and realized he had no idea when to stop. He pulled away and frowned, it was too much. “That’s okay. You actually did a lot better than I did. Just watch me okay?” He watched as she effortlessly put a dollop of the buttercream on the macaroon and top it. It looked perfect. “See? Try again. 

He huffed, “This isn’t fun.” 

“Once you get into the rhythm it is.” She then squeezed a bit on her finger and tasted it. She smiled, “Also the tastiest.” 

“Is that even sanitary?” 

“I’ll wash my hands. Taste it.” 

“I’m not doing that.” 

“Do it. You’ll like it.” His shoulders fell, but he knew enough about her to know she could be stubborn. He rolled his eyes and did the same; put a bit on his finger and tasted it. He was pleasantly surprised to find it delicious, exceeding any previous expectations. “Told you.” Her smug face made him stick his tongue out at her and push her face away. “Hey!” 

“Just wash your hands. I got the rest of them.” 

“You-”

“Wash your hands.” She groaned and went to wash them, feeling like she was being talked to by her mother. It was both funny and sad to see a boy her age act seem so mature. Whenever she did see him let loose, it was very controlled and it was only ever glimpses of the boy inside the war machine. She forced these thoughts out of her head as she dried her hands and turned back to Damian, fully prepared to see a mess. Except she found 3 more perfectly filled macaroons. He waited for her judgment and she grinned, “Quick learner.” 

“I try.” She motioned over to the rest on the rack, “You wanna help me do those too?” 

Despite the yawn that tried to hide, he nodded and she brought them over. The two got the macaroons done in little time and he had to admit it was relaxing. Though he’d never do it out loud, “Now what?” 

“We put them in something airtight and leave it for a day to ‘bloom’. At least that what my dad says.” She grabbed some Tupperware and placed them towards the back of the fridge where only Alfred really ventured. She grabbed the piping bags and handed him one. 

“What do I do with this?” 

“I usually just eat it.” He looked confused until she tilted her head back and squeezed some in her mouth. He snorted and gently pushed her. She started laughing too, “What?”

“That’s so bad for you.” 

“But it’s so good! Come on! Do it!” She started chanting, “Do it! Do it! Do it!” He licked his lips and knew mother would forbid this. Looking around, he realized mother wasn’t here. He threw his head back and squeezed a good portion in his mouth while Marinette cheered him on. The two kids laughed and Damian felt carefree for one of the first times in his life in this kitchen with a girl he barely knew. She served herself another helping and licked her lips, “Now this is living.” 

“This? This is living?” 

“Come on, isn’t it every kid’s dream to stay up late and eat sweets? My dream anyway.” 

He chuckled, “Of course it is.” 

She smiled and nudged him, “Okay then. What was your dumbest dream?” 

“My dumbest?” She nodded and he thought for a moment. The more he thought the quicker he sobered up. Feelings of duty and responsibility came back as he answered honestly, “I don’t know. My whole life I was told I was supposed to win the Hunger Games. That’s it. That’s my dream.” 

Marinette was sorry she asked and all those bad feelings came back up in her stomach. All those thoughts about what his home life must’ve been like raced in her mind and she gripped her pipping bag so hard that buttercream squirted out and covered hair and face. She blinked, not really processing her error until Damian busted out laughing. This brought her back to reality as she thought for a moment, aimed her pipping bag, and shot. “Hey! No fair! I just showered!” 

“So did I!” 

“That’s not my fault you squirted buttercream all over yourself.” She huffed and aimed her makeshift weapon back at him. He quickly brought up his own and the two were at a standoff. “I can stand here all night.” 

“Oh please, you were ready to knock out a little bit ago. Don’t think I missed that yawn you tried to push down.” 

“Well looks like-”

“What is going on here?” Both kids jumped and shot their buttercream at their intruder. The two quickly started to spout off apologies and clean as Alfred, covered in buttercream, watched on unamused. “You two should be in bed. It’s extremely late.”

Marinette rinsed off the last of the cream out of her rag, “I know, I’m sorry Alfred. It’s my fault.”

“I apologize as well. I didn’t mean to make a mess.” Alfred could tell the two were genuine in their apologies and Damian reminded him so much of Bruce as a child. Without showing it, he felt nostalgic and simply waved it off. 

“Shower and head to your rooms. I won’t tell Master Bruce if you don’t bring it up.” He tasted some of the cream on his face and smiled, “Excellent as always Marinette.” 

Marinette squeaked, surprised to hear the butler’s praise, “Thank you.” 

“Now go before I change my mind.” The two nodded and quickly ran off towards their rooms. Same wing, different hallway, laughing the whole way there. 

“You were totally going to cave first.” 

“You wish, I have the stamina of a fully trained Peacekeeper.” 

“And my mom said I can be as stubborn as a mule so…” 

“That’s a good thing?” 

“In this case, it could’ve been.” Damian shook his head as they reached an intersection. He was about to tell her goodnight when he noticed she looked pretty serious. 

“You okay?” 

“No.” She looked up at him and snorted, “Wait, I can’t talk to you seriously with that on your face.” 

“What on my face?”

She reached up and wiped a bit of cream off his cheek and ate it. “That on your face.” He rubbed his cheek, both confused by the gesture but oddly embarrassed. 

“It’s off my face. Talk.” 

She sighed and rubbed her arm, “Do you think you could teach me something? For the games?” 

“I already told you, you weren’t going to get picked. Literally everyone in this house has told you that.” 

“Damian, please trust me on this when I say I know for a fact I will be picked.” 

“How do you know that?” 

“I don’t know, I just feel it!” She bit her lip and tightened her grip on her forearm, “Please, just teach me something so I don’t feel so useless.” 

He looked her over, thinking for a bit, before groaning, “Fine.” 

She perked up, “Really?” 

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, “Yes. We’ll get Duke and Barbara to teach you some basic SERE-training. Try to focus on survival skills and we’ll work on combat together okay?” 

He cracked an eye open to find her smiling up at him, hopeful and grateful. “Thank you, Damian.” 

It was too late to be dealing with this. He simply turned her around and pushed her in the direction of her room, “Now go. Shower. Sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She giggled and ran off towards her room. He couldn’t help but watch her until she ran into her bedroom. He ran his fingers through his hair and felt gross with the sticky consistency of the drying buttercream in his hair. “Great.” He headed off to his own room and prepared himself mentally for whatever was coming next.


	3. Training Simulators

“You’re getting more efficient at recognizing different plant life.”

“Duke and Barbara are great teachers.”

“I figured they would be.” He watched as Marinette was running through the little recognition exercise and was impressed at her progress. She had to put the different plants into categories that were between safe and edible or unsafe and poisonous. A few days ago, she would’ve gotten herself killed with what would’ve been considered rookie mistakes by his mother’s standards. Now, he could comfortably say she would survive in the wild. It brought him an odd sense of comfort he didn’t realize he needed.

Marinette pouted as her clear rate was shown as an 80% and glared at him, “You distracted me.”

“Uh-huh. Sure I did.”

“You did!”

“Well, you know what’s a bigger distraction? Trying not to die while the whole country watches.” She frowned and he shrugged, “Distraction or not, I at least know you won’t accidentally eat something that’ll kill you so that’s a plus.” She huffed and shuffled her feet. He knew she didn’t like it when he was blunt with her about this topic, but he’d rather not beat around the bush. The games were harsh, so he needed to be too. “Can you build some shelter?”

“That’s one of the first things Duke taught me. He said I was pretty good at it now.”

“And hunting?” Her silence made him groan, “Marinette-”

“I don’t want to have to kill a bird or rabbit or something! They didn’t do anything to me!"

“You do realize that murder is the name of the game right?”

“I thought hunger was, but hey shows what I know about reading.”

“You know what-”

“Settle down!” The two turned to see Duke and Jason walking in, arms crossed as they watched the two bickering children thoroughly amused. Duke just sighed, “Marinette, Damian’s right. You’ll need to learn to hunt. That’s going to be tomorrow’s topic after you make some of the finishing touches on Barbara’s dress.”

Marinette's shoulders fell and Damian had a smug smirk on his face. Jason quickly wiped it off once he said, “Damian, you still have to clear Tim’s maze.”

Damian scowled, “Why? I can navigate any terrain.”

“Not every terrain if Tim’s still got you stumped.”

“It’s not even fair! I can’t use the stars or anything!”

Jason shrugged, “And if they decide to put you somewhere cloudy? You’re going to be lost forever and die. Sucks to suck.”

Damian growled, “Fine!” Marinette failed to stifle a giggle, earning her a quick glare from the soon to be competitor.

She quickly coughed and pointed at her throat, “Sorry. Tickle in my throat.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Go eat some deadly nightshade or something.”

“Only if you get lost in the maze for a few days.”

Duke and Jason shared a very peculiar look, unbeknownst to the two going back and forth with their banter. Jason bit back a grin while Duke let his grow proudly on his face. Duke stepped between the two and grabbed Marinette’s arm, “Come on. You still have to work on your aim.”

“Aim?”

“Duke’s showing me how to use some different weapons. We’re working on throwing knives and archery right?”

“Right. Now, if you’ll excuse us we have lots of work to do.” Duke started pushing Marinette towards a different area of the gym. Her initial surprise worse off quickly as she was getting more and more used to the chaos and fast-paced nature of the training grounds. While similar to the anarchy within the manor, there was a different sense of urgency that differentiated it from their normal pandemonium. She quickly looked back and waved goodbye and Damian returned the gesture with a small smile and wave of his own.

Jason, realizing Marinette was finally out of earshot, slung an arm around Damian’s shoulders and began teasing him. “You know, you two would be pretty cute if you would just stop arguing with each other.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Jason frowned before he pinched his nose, “Oh, that’s right. You guys are still kids.” He sighed and just ruffled Damian’s hair, much to the boy’s dismay. “You always talk and act older.”

“And you act much more immature.”

“Oh very funny, brat. Time to get lost in Tim’s maze.”

Damian was ready to protest when Jason grabbed Damian’s collar and picked him up off the ground and carried him away like a scolded cat. It was infuriating and what’s worse is he could hear Marinette laughing with Barbara and Duke as they left. Damian crossed his arms and grumbled as Jason and Tim put him in the middle of their simulation.

Tim designed it to always be random terrain and random exits. No stars. Only the land around you. Damian hated it. He felt like this could be the one thing that stumps him. Even back when his mother would drop him off in the middle of random forests, Damian would use landmarks and the stars to always find his way back in record time. Still, he understood their point. Wherever they landed, it was computer-generated. Normal rules didn’t apply and he needed to know how to navigate the land. Duke could’ve probably helped him, but he didn’t want to take him away from Marinette’s training. Instead, he simply did his best and endured the training.

Marinette wasn’t fairing much better. The more she missed her targets, the worse the teasing was. “You know, Alfred told us he found them in the kitchen super late a few nights ago.”

“Wasn’t that the night she made macaroons?”

Another missed shot and she finally stomped her foot, “You know, I’m trying to concentrate here!”

Barbara snickered and nodded, “We’re just teasing. Besides, you need to learn to tune us out and concentrate.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and turned back to the target, “Yeah, yeah, sure.” She took another shot and watched as her arrow still failed to hit the mark. She growled and threw her bow to the side and rubbed her temples. “I don’t like the idea of shooting someone.”

Duke smiled at her sympathetically, “Let’s hope you don’t have to. Still, you need to learn to defend yourself.”

Barbara nodded in agreement, “Plus, you need something to show off to the Capital so they give you a good rating. Seeing you be a small, cute, little Robin Hood is sure to get their attention.”

That’s right. She needed to prove her worth. She always thought her worth was in her designs, but a few dresses won’t save her here. She looked around the room her eyes landed on Damian on the other side of the training area. She watched the screen that Tim used to monitor Damian’s simulation and tried thinking of a few solutions. She’s been doing this since he first complained to her about the impossible nature of the game. Marinette liked puzzles that made her think outside the box, so she was excited to try it.

Still, she needed to prove herself competent with at least one weapon. She looked over at her two trainers and whined, “Can I just use my yo-yo?”

“The one Tim made you?” Marinette nodded and Barbara shook her head, “One, I don’t that’s possible. Two, I doubt a yo-yo is better than a bow and arrow in a fight.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow before grabbing the bow and placing it aside with the arrows. She took the yo-yo out of her back pocket, twirling the string in her fingers and feeling the weight of it.

She got the design of it a while back in a dream. Marinette dreamt about old stories she used to make with her old friend. They made themselves the heroes and used it to escape their reality. She called herself Ladybug and used her yo-yo, one she painted herself, as her weapon. Cat Noir, as he called himself, liked to use sticks. They fought off the evil butterflies that ‘threatened’ their crops until he moved away. Realizing she nearly forgot such fond memories made her sad, so she commissioned Tim to make her imaginary weapon into a reality.

Tim did not disappoint. Using her design, he made her a yo-yo made out of strong, lightweight metals that would leave a mark if it ever made an impact. The string was made out of a lightweight titanium. He made sure to use almost 50 feet worth of the stuff, but you’d never know with the yo-yo’s design that it was hiding so much. She helped do the finishing touches and the first time she held it in her hand she nearly cried. She practiced with it, getting familiar with its heaviness and trying out different ways of using it. She realized she could use it to climb and grapple onto things. She could propel herself towards things with the string’s surprising elasticity. Most importantly, she learned to fight with it. That was almost 3 months ago, so it was fair to assume she felt pretty confident with herself.

“Switch the targets to moving ones. The ones Cass uses when she throwing her axes.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. If any of them get too close, we can always stop the simulation.” Barbara and Duke shared a skeptical glance before Barbara made the necessary adjustments to their simulation. Marinette took a few deep breaths as she played with the yo-yo a bit and listened to the countdown. At 3 she clutched the yo-yo in her hand. At 2, she mentally prepared herself by looking around the area and making note of things within reach such as some small boulders scattered around, some overhead beams, and a rack of weapons on the far right just outside the railing that surrounded this particular simulation. At 1, she gulped and briefly wondered if she should opt-out now.

At the starting beat, she sprang into action. Enemies materialized around her and the adrenaline guided her through those first few takedowns. Running straight through the middle, she wrapped her yo-yo around one of the boulders and swung it around and knocking it into the two closest enemies. She then threw it into another enemy’s chest, knocking him back and giving her enough time to wrap the yo-yo around his ankle. She grunted as she practically threw him into an enemy farther away that was slowly gaining distance.

4 down.

Noticing another enemy to her right, she rolled out of the way and used her yo-yo to wrap around an overhead beam to pull her up. Once up there, she looked down and studied the enemies below her. 4 left. 1 close by and 3 closing in. She brought back her yo-yo into her palm and pushed herself off the beams, propelling her to the enemy closest to her. She then spun her yo-yo above her head, causing a red, almost glowing ring to appear above her. The force she used when she brought down the yo-yo on the poor thing practically shattered it into oblivion.

3 left.

She looked at the three running towards her and hummed as she quickly started thinking of different options for their takedown. After deciding using the weapons on the outside rack would be cheating, she shrugged and ran headfirst towards the group. She didn’t even seem to hesitate.

A wave of calm, controlled amusement engulfed Marinette as she dropped and slid between one of the enemy’s legs at the last possible moment. Using the confusion to her advantage, she quickly threw her yo-yo around their ankle and pulled as she gained footing. She watched as it fell head first onto another boulder and making it unable to continue. She looked back at the last two and propelled herself back up to the ceiling and gripping onto the railings. Wrapping her legs around one of the sturdier ones, she hung upside down and threw the yo-yo to wrap around the last two enemies’ necks. She pulled and they knocked their heads together. Funny, but not enough to take them out. She ran the string through the railing and let go of the railing entirely. As she made her descent down she watched the last two enemies as they were strung up.

She hoped they would disappear immediately, but when she saw the two hanging there for a few moments while the computer processed their injuries she felt a wave of guilt for giving them such a harsh death. She summoned her yo-yo back once they did and spun back around to face her two trainers. Barbara and Duke simply stood there wide-eyed and slack-jawed, “What?”

Duke was the first to snap out of it and he desperately motioned at the situation behind her. “What?! What do you mean ‘what’?! I thought you said you didn’t know how to fight!”

“Not with the weapons that they’ll probably give me, no.” She started to spin around her yo-yo and smiled, “But if I had this baby with me, I’d probably have a pretty good shot.” She felt pretty proud of herself until the yo-yo fell on top of her head, effectively not only bruising her skull but bruising her ego as well. She groaned as she rubbed the place of impact and pouted, “Never mind.”

Barbara blinked, coming to her senses after seeing Marinette’s clumsiness shine through again, and started laughing hysterically. Duke just watched as she fell to the ground and pursed his lips together, “I think you just broke her. Damn it, Marinette. You just broke Barbara!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and walked over to the laughing woman’s side. Barbara did her best to control herself, but as soon as she saw Marinette standing over her she started laughing even harder. Duke just rubbed his temples, “Please tell me someone else saw that. Please tell me we didn’t just hallucinate that.”

Marinette laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck, “I mean, I guess it is a bit surprising.”

“A bit?!” Barbara struggled to keep herself together and sat herself up, “I’ve never seen anyone take anyone down with a toy!”

Marinette blushed and looked at her yo-yo, “Sorry. I guess it is weird.”

“It was awesome! Seriously, when you asked Tim to make you a yo-yo I didn’t think he’d make you a superweapon!” Barbara took another deep breath as Duke and Marinette helped her get back on her feet. “Marinette, where did you even learn to do that?”

Marinette shrugged, “When Tim first gave it to me, I used to come in here at night and just practice with it. I realized it could be used in a lot of different ways and well…” She shrugged and looked at her yo-yo, “I don’t know. Probably also helps that my friends and I used to be super active back home."

Duke just looked completely dumbfounded as he simply responded, “You know what? We’re taking a break. I’m going to go get the others because someone needs to confirm that what we just witnessed was a miracle. I. Am. Out!” He promptly turned around and started walking towards the exit.

Marinette’s confusion must’ve been all over her face because Barbara waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t worry about it. We’re just a bit shocked. We didn’t realize you could be so deadly.” Marinette frowned at her choice of words and Barbara rubbed her arm in an attempt to be comforting, “Considering the situation you’re in, that’s a good thing.”

“I still don’t like it.” She looked back at the recent battlegrounds and sighed, “I got carried away.”

“That’ll work in your favor here. Trust me. You don’t want to overthink this sort of thing.”

Marinette scrunched up her nose, “Why does it even exist?”

Barbara sighed, “Because rich and powerful people want to stay that way. They’ll do anything to stay that way. It’s severely fucked up.”

Marinette looked back over at the three boys still arguing amongst themselves as Damian was still struggling to finish Tim’s maze. Marinette was oddly relieved none of them saw her fight. Still, as she watched Damian struggle against his challenge she frowned. He was only doing this for the games. They all only did it for the games. “Yes. Yes, it is.”


	4. Game Plans

“Bruce we have to take this seriously.”

“I am taking this seriously. I’ve been in touch with some contacts in the capital and I’ve been researching Marinette’s district. There aren’t a lot of children her age around, so there’s a good chance she won’t be picked this year.”

“And the contacts?”

“If Damian or, god forbid, Marinette are in trouble my contacts could be sponsors and send them something.”

“I doubt Damian will need it, but Marinette definitely would.” Dick chuckled, “But, I also doubt she’ll have a hard time winning people over by herself.”

Tim shook his head, “You guys are thinking about this all wrong.” The group looked at him, confusion written all over their faces, and he continued. “You guys should _hope_ Marinette gets picked this year.”

Jason glared at him, “The hell are you talking about Tim? Don’t even say that.”

“Think about it. If she gets picked this time, Damian can protect her and if she wins then she doesn’t have to worry about being picked ever again.”

“And what about Damian?” Dick crossed his arms and bounced his leg, “You haven’t been out that long. You know there’s only one winner coming out of this.”

“I know.”

Dick shoved his chair back and walked around the table, “You can’t be serious!”

Bruce raised his voice, “Dick!”

“No! You should be just as pissed as I am! Are you listening to this?”

Tim sighed, “Look, I’m just thinking about all the possibilities. The best option is that she gets picked this time and we get Damian to just stay with her.”

Stephanie jumped in and put herself in between the two, “OR! Or we can pray she doesn’t get picked and we train her for next year.”

“And then she’ll have to go up against Careers who are older, bigger, and more experienced by herself. You want to talk about odds and chances? Statistically, this is our best bet!”

“Bullshit!” Jason ran his fingers through his hair, “Seriously, the girl has potential. That clip Duke and Barbara showed us proves that!”

“And if that isn’t enough?”

“And Damian is enough?”

“Dick, you know as well as I do that Damian could wipe the floor with 95% of any of the players going into the games. Doesn’t matter who they are, he will most likely make it to the end.” 

After a short pause, Dick slammed his hands on the table, “Damn it!”

Cassandra hummed, “So she gets in and they make it to the end, who’s to say Damian won’t off her right then and there?”

“He’s not like that!”

“Dick, I know you’ve gotten attached-”

“ENOUGH!” The room stilled and Bruce shook his head, “Listen to yourselves! You are trying to use and sacrifice one child for another!” Tim looked away and Bruce continued, “Whatever happens, we have to prepare them both for anything. If they both get picked, they stick together and figure out what they’re going to do by themselves. If she doesn’t get picked, we make sure we prepare her until she gets picked or ages out. I will not sit here and argue over their lives like this!”

Dick glared at Tim before sighing, “This worst part is that I know you’re right.”

Tim clenched his jaw, “I hate it, but I couldn’t think of anything else. I really don’t know what else they could do. One of them is making it out, but Bruce is right. That’s their decision.”

Jason groaned, “Where are they anyway?”

“I believe they’re sparring, Master Jason.”

Duke rolled his eyes and smiled, “Of course they are. He promised her they would.”

“He did? When did he do that?”

Alfred smiled, “I believe it was the night I caught them making macaroons, sir.”

Cassandra relaxed and mumbled, “I don’t know if it’s sad or sweet that they’re bonding.”

She jumped when Bruce responded, “Both, it’s both.”

She frowned and got out of her seat, “I’m going back to my room.”

Stephanie soon followed, “Yeah, I will too. You coming, Barbara?”

“Yeah.” Barbara looked at the group before waving and leaving the room with the other girls.

Tim took a deep breath before turning to Dick, “Hey, I’m sorry. I know you’ve bonded a lot with him-”

“I thought all of us were bonding with him.”

“But you, Bruce, and Marinette have really gotten through to him. That’s why it sucks that it was the best option I could think of.”

Dick pressed his lips into a thin line before patting Tim’s back, “Just hope that she ages out.” Tim nodded and headed out to his room as well.

Jason looked up at Dick, “Relax, he didn’t mean it like-”

“I know. He’s right, though. I really love that kid.”

Bruce sighed, “I know. I do too, but we have to keep our heads.”

Dick’s eyes flickered back to Bruce and asked, “Have you told him?”

“What?”

“Have you told him?” Dick sighed, “Do I seriously have to remind you to tell your own son that you love him?”

Bruce glared at Dick and stood up, “I’m going to ignore that accusation. We all need sleep and cool down. Jason?”

“Yeah?”

“Make sure they don’t accidentally kill each other. We all know they get too into it sometimes, especially after seeing that clip of Marinette. We need to have more faith in her. In both of them.”

“Yeah, alright.” Jason patted Dick’s shoulder on the way out before jogging down the hallways of the giant manor. The more he thought about it the more he felt pity, “Shit, there’s only six weeks left.” He wondered what exactly they were going to do when the reaping came around. Before Damian came around, Marinette spent most of her time with him. He was the one who helped her perfect her launch using the yo-yo during her frequent bouts of insomnia. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss having her around, but she still came for questions and tips on the games.

He never forgot about the night she barged into his room, nearly hyperventilating because she realized she was going to be picked. He tried to calm her down and reassure her, but something about the way she looked at him made him believe it. Neither of them slept that night.

The closer he got to the training area the louder the voices became and he was starting to get concerned. His jog turned into a run as he flew down the hallway and busted through the doors. He was relieved to find them simply bickering amongst themselves in front of Tim’s simulation. Jason sighed and called out to the two, “Hey! What’s going on?”

The two turned back and Marinette perked up, “I figured it out!”

Damian playfully glared at the girl and snatched back the headgear, “Yeah. It was something I literally didn’t even think of because of its simplicity.”

“Stop overthinking and maybe you’ll notice the answer looking you right in the face.”

“You literally punched a tree because you couldn't figure it out earlier.”

“You know what-”

Jason jumped in, “Woah! Woah! Woah! Calm down, guys. So, Marinette, how did you do it?”

Marinette blushed and Damian snorted. She stuck her tongue out, “Well, it was actually after I punched the tree.”

“Oh?”

Damian rolled his eyes and nudged her, “She jammed a stick into the ground and realized she could use the shadows to figure out directions. Literally completely forgot about that.”

“So you used a sundial to figure out directions?”

Marinette laughed nervously, “Well, yeah. I figured since the sun rises and sets like normal it would be easy to figure out directions using the position of the sun and shadows.”

“And how’d you learn that.”

“My mom taught me about it once and I remembered it when I saw the shadow the stick made.”

Damian smirked, “Leave it to you to figure this thing out with **a stick**.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I couldn’t use things like the starts or landmarks, but I forgot the stupid sun!” He groaned.

Marinette laughed, “Well, there might not be stars, but the sun is always around!”

Jason sighed, “That’s not how any of us figured it out, but _I guess_ that’s one way to do it.”

“Oh come on!” Marinette ran around and jumped onto Jason’s arm. The fact that he could lift his arm without breaking a sweat with her latched onto it made him worry. “I figured it out with a stick! I deserve some bragging rights!”

“Please don’t give her bragging rights.”

Jason rolled his eyes, “Very clever.” Marinette grinned and giggled, “Tim’s going to be mad at you for figuring it out using a stick.”

Damian huffed, “How does he expect us to figure it out?”

“Honestly, there’s no one way to do it. Dick found streams and used that. I climbed big trees and tried to navigate that way. Steph just stayed in the simulation for like 18 hours and made her own landmarks to navigate. We all did different things. Because it’s random, the point is to figure out ways to find an exit and not get lost. You don’t need to map out the entire forest, just find a way out."

Damian groaned, “You suck.”

She excitedly looked up to Jason for some kind of praise. She was not disappointed, “Woah!”

Jason jerked her arm up and she slipped. Before she hit the ground, Jason scooped her up and spun her around, “Nice job!”

“A-hem!” The two turned to Damian, who seemed irritable and was tapping his foot. “Yes, yes, she solved a puzzle but is this really necessary?”

Jason and Marinette shared a look and Jason grinned, “Someone’s jealous.”

“What?”

“Oh no, poor Damian. We can tell the others you figured it out if you want!”

“This feels patronizing.”

Jason snorted, “No! No, no, no. We would never!”

Damian pouted, “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! I’ll still be here after the games; with or without this stupid program!”

Marinette continued giggling, but Jason’s sudden stop brought the mood down almost immediately. She looked at Jason, concerned, and poked his cheek, “Hey, you okay?”

Jason blinked and put Marinette down, “Oh, yeah. Just spaced out.”

Damian crossed his arms, “You spaced out? You went into an entirely new dimension. You doing okay?”

“Be careful, you sound concerned.”

Damian threw his hands up and began walking away, “Never mind! Forget I asked!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and ran after him, “Oh come on!” She grabbed onto his arm and started pulling him back, “You can’t just leave! We still have to train!”

Damian’s expression deadpanned, “It really doesn’t seem like you need the training.”

“What are you talking about? Of course I do.”

Damian pointed at the sparring simulation, “Duke saved the footage. You seem pretty adept with a yo-yo. Seriously, what the heck did Tim put in that thing?”

Marinette blushed and groaned, “Oh no.”

“What?”

She pulled out the yo-yo out of her back pocket and glared at it, “I’m literally useless with everything but the yo-yo.”

Jason patted her shoulder, “Don’t say that.”

Marinette pouted, “It’s true though! I literally don’t know how to use anything else.” She threw her hands up and the yo-yo flew into the air, “And I doubt they’re going to let me use this thing in the games!”

“Um, Marinette-”

“I’m just plain, old-” The yo-yo dove down and made a big ‘_BONK_’ when it hit the top of Marinette’s head. She nearly fell over and both boys dove in to catch her. She groaned as she rubbed the forming bump, “-clumsy Marinette.”

Damian adjusted her in his arms and Jason stepped back to focus more on the point of impact, “You just hit yourself with your own yo-yo. I don’t think you’re a plain person.”

Jason looked over Marinette, “Well, you’ll live but I’d say give it a rest for tonight. You guys can spar tomorrow after the bump goes down and you’re feeling better.” Marinette nodded and Damian sat her up on the ground. “What are you going to do now?”

Marinette started reeling in all the string and Damian shrugged, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. My head just hurts now.”

Damian hummed and thought out loud, “Maybe you can teach me how to back cupcakes then? You’ve been craving some for a few days and-”

Marinette sat straight up, “Really? Come on, let’s go!” She jumped up and wobbled a bit, putting both Damian and Jason on edge. She looked back and sighed, “I’m okay! I’m okay. Just got up too fast.”

Damian sighed and stood up, brushed himself off, and followed after a very excited Marinette towards the kitchen. Jason trailed a bit behind since he was going in the same direction, but he knew that he shouldn’t really interfere with whatever was going on between them. Damian only ever truly let his guard down around her and she was excited to have someone her age around. They latched onto each other quickly, despite all of Tim’s statistics saying they’d hate each other. She was too social, optimistic, and bright. He was more of a brooding type, kept to himself until recently, and realistic. They shouldn’t be walking down a hallway talking about food, competitions, and everything else they could think of.

Jason was happy and wished he could see where this was going, but he knew deep down whatever was going on wouldn’t really get the chance to bloom. Once the reaping set in, they’d be separated either by district or by a screen. He knew the games who change both of their lives whether or not they both were picked. They all knew Damian was going and they all knew he wouldn’t be the same coming back from that, but Marinette was a whole another mess.

When he saw the two of them laughing about an inside joke they had Jason muttered to himself, “I fucking hate these games.” 


	5. Run Away

Marinette ran through the hallways and away from all the yelling. She didn’t want today to happen. Not for 12 years. She panted as she ran through the manor and found one of the secret passages. She jumped through without hesitation and slide down the vent shaft, slamming into a covering at the very bottom. Hearing some of the voices getting closer, she kicked out the vent’s cover and crawled out into the backyard. She looked around and found herself in a daze until the loud thunder above her snapped her out of it. She shook her head and immediately regretted it afterward, it felt like the world was spinning.

She pushed herself off the ground and sprinted through the various bushes and trees that covered the grounds as she ran further from the manor. She was practically donewith the dress, she didn’t need to be there. She could just run and hide and never come back out. Just stay lost, she could do that. She smirked and pushed through the spiking fever, “Come on, just a bit further.”

She leaned next to a tree to cough. The heavy cough turned into wheezing which turned into gagging as she struggled against the food threatening to come back up. She forced herself to swallow it and keep going. She soon found herself on the border of the Wayne Manor. Marinette thought back to when she first arrived here, she hated that it was surrounded by forests as it toed the line between District 1 and land unaltered. She knew they liked their privacy, but it felt so isolated. Now, she was grateful. No better place to go missing.

She took a deep breath as she crossed the line only marked by a difference in greenery. Maybe it was the fever, or maybe she was just desperate, but she laughed after finding herself outside. As she ran through the trees and trudged through the mud she realized she’s never truly been outside. She’s been outside her district, but only to be put inside the manor. She’s never been somewhere untouched. Usually she’d take this time to explore and look for information, but right now she was using it for a selfish escape.

The skies were dark and grey, she was soaked to the bone, and she was losing herself as she got deeper and deeper into the untamed wilderness. Everything started to look the same to her and everything seemed to be moving towards her. She needed to get out of the rainstorm, but where would she go? She felt helpless, but she was too afraid to call out for help in case they’d find her. She propped herself against a tree and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths and praying for something to help her get out of this rain. If she stayed under a tree, lighting could strike. If she stayed out in the open, this fever would only get worse. She needed better shelter. “Come on, you learned this. Where-” She sneezed, setting off another coughing fit. She was ready to sit there and curl up into a ball when she noticed something bright out of the corner of her eye.

She looked over and noticed a ladybug come towards her, landing on her forehead before flying around in front of her. She could’ve laughed if she wasn’t so cold. “W-what are you doing out here? There’s t-too much rain.” She shivered and felt her throat close up as her voice slipped further and further away from her. The ladybug seemed unbothered though and began flying away. “Wait!” Marinette looked around and noticed that the ladybug seemed to be her only company, “Wait, don’t leave!” She did her best to follow the red bug.

They’ve never led her wrong before. There was a reason she named her superhero persona after them, they always seemed to help her when she needed them most. The district held them in high regards, they were always there to protect the crops from being infested by more harmful insects. Alongside what they did for her district’s people, they also helped her personally. When she was little and got lost, they’d led her home. When she was running away from some mean kids, they led her to adults or older kids who protected. Her mother always said they were good luck. Despite hating luck with a passion, she was grateful for her connection with the creatures. “W-Where are you taking me?”

They never answered her before and she didn’t expect them too. She just needed to fill the silence with something. Ten more minutes of following the bug, she was wondering if her luck finally ran out when something came into view. It was a small cave covered by some moss close to the ground, but not close enough that it’d flood. She could crawl in and wait out the storm. It was perfect. She was about to crawl inside when she noticed eyes following her every move. For a moment, she thought it was her mind playing tricks until it suddenly snapped at her. She flinched and yelled out in pain when it latched onto her left arm.

She looked at the animal attacking her and realized it wasn’t necessarily aiming to kill. It stopped and growled at her while adding more pressure on the bite, but it didn’t continue. She felt tears going down her face as she sucked in the pain and was ready to yell, but heard a whimper. She looked further into the cave and, when the lighting lit up the sky, she finally got a good look at what she was up against. It was a large feral cat with red and black fur. Behind it, three small kittens mewing and staying dry.

The feral cat panted and hissed until thunder filled the air causing it to retreat back to her kittens. She continued to watch Marinette with caution. Marinette let the rain wash over her arm and she watched the blood wash away off her arm. She sighed and looked around for the ladybug that led her there, but it was gone. She turned back to the cat and its family and smiled, “Y-You have beautiful kittens. I-I’m sorry I scared you.”

Her voice hurt but she smiled through the pain for the kittens. She wondered if they knew she was trying to comfort them. She sat outside the cave and searched around in her purse until she found what she was looking for. “Perfect.” She always kept snacks on her. Ever since the low crop yield some years back, hunger rampaged through some of the districts. The capital and first two didn’t feel it and districts like 12 felt it the most. While she wasn’t starving, there were days she went without and because of that she always kept food on her that didn’t rot easily. She had bread, some extra sweets, but most importantly some jerky.

“Here, are you hungry?” She broke off a piece of the beef and threw it to the cat. The cat sniffed it for a moment before taking a sample of it. It mewled, satisfied with the taste and continuing to eat. Marinette broke off another piece and threw it to the cat. The cat happily took it and the kittens crawled out. The one black cat took a good look at Marinette before running up and stumbling over its own tail. Marinette would’ve laughed if her throat didn’t hurt so much. She sneezed and wiped her nose, “You o-okay?”

The kitten went as far as it could without getting wet from the rain and meowed at Marinette. Marinette watched the cat for any hint of discomfort, but the cat seemed to be too busy with the other two kittens. She hesitantly held out her hand and placed it in front of the kitten, but didn’t make any moves to touch it. The kitten smelled her fingers before rubbing its face into her palm. Marinette smiled, “You’re so cute. Y-you know, my friend used to have a cat like you. He c-called him Plagg.” Marinette watched the kitten pester its mother until the cat looked up at Marinette. The cat looked over the cat one last time before turning its back to her and getting comfortable.

“Does that mean I-I can come in?” A grumbled meow from the cat was all she needed to crawl inside. She was grateful, the cats warmed the ground a bit. It really made her realize just how cold she was. She was still dripping with water and shivering. Marinette coughed, getting strange looks from the animals hiding out the storm with her. The black kitten jumped on Marinette’s chest and pawed at her, wanting to play, but she couldn’t focus anymore. She felt the darkness closing in on her and she knocked out beside the cats. Her last thoughts drifted to her mother and her bed back home. She really wished she had her mother’s soup and hugs. They were warm and comforting, two things she really wished she had.

Marinette doesn’t know how long she slept, but she had lucid dreams. Some were of her life back with her parents and friends, some were back at the manor with Bruce and his family, and some were nightmares of the games. The first two kinds were comforting and made her wish she could wake up just to go back to those places. The last one made her never want to wake up ever again if it meant avoiding the pain. Despite the pain and joy each scenario brought her, she could tell it was a dream. There was so much weight to her steps and the lack of control made her question everything.

The one thing she knew to be real was the yelp and subsequent cursing. It was too loud and raw to be part of her dream. “Hey! Let go! I’m not after your kittens, I’m here for her!” Marinette struggled to open her eyes while the hissing continued, “Please, let go. I swear, I’m just here for- Wait a second, she’s not one of your kittens!” She groaned and wondered if it really took this much energy to open her eyes.

She finally managed to crack one eye open and it took a moment for everything to focus. Marinette finally realized what was going on around her, the cat was attacking someone just like it attacked her. That someone yelled at her, “Hey! Marinette, can you hear me?”

She coughed and tried to move, but a shooting pain ran up her arm. She looked at it and immediately regretted it. It looked like it was starting to get infected, still she pushed through the pain and sat up as best as she could. Unfocused and unsure, she patted the back of the cat as a way of telling it to stand down. After a few moments, the cat did and hissed at Damian before heading back to its own corner. Marinette tried to move, but noticed the little black kitten beside her, excited and ready to play a bit.

She smiled weakly and tried to say something, but nothing came out. Her voice was completely gone. “Marinette?” She slowly turned her head to Damian and did her best to focus on him. “Hey, c’mon. Get out of there.” She tried to move, but everything felt so heavy. She honestly wondered if she was still dreaming, but he grabbed her hand. His warmth felt real.

She did her best to drag herself out of the small cave, despite the protests of the cats behind her. Damian helped her and threw her arm around his shoulders to help support her as she stood. She couldn’t even look straight. She sent the kittens a small wave and then reached into her purse. She pulled out a stick of jerky before throwing it to the cats. They seemed satisfied, though the kitten seemed to only have eyes for Marinette. “That’s probably going to give them a stomach ache if they eat all of it right now.” He tried to gauge her reaction, but she seemed to be falling asleep against her. Adjusting his hold, he brought his hand up to her forehead, “Shit. You still have a fever.”

He grunted as he moved her until she was being carried in his arms. She seemed to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inch closer to him, “You’re freezing.” He didn’t expect an answer, but he also didn’t expect her to fall back asleep in his hold. “How the hell did you make it this far? You were delirious.” He really didn’t know whether to be impressed or upset with the girl. Still, looking at her while she was dirty and sick made him feel pity.

He walked through the mud and through the trees and traced his steps back to the edge of the manor. He sighed in relief when he saw the border and started running when he saw the front entrance. He did his best not to disturb the girl, but he just wanted to get her inside. The looks on Sabine’s and Bruce’s faces made it worth it. Sabine immediately took Marinette out of his arms and started fussing over her. Alfred suggested that she bathe her and put her back to bed while Bruce held onto Damian’s shoulder. “You found her.”

“I did.”

Bruce smiled and pulled Damian in a hug, “I’m so proud of you. Thank you.”

Damian hesitantly reciprocated before frowning, “I’m still mad at them.”

“Try not to be. They had good intentions.”

Damian pulled away and glared at his father, “They knew she wasn’t looking forward to it, but they still tried to throw a party. She already was terrified of it, add a fever on top of that and you have a recipe for disaster.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’m surprised Jason even helped.”

“He didn’t. He didn’t want to either, but he was outvoted.” Bruce grabbed Damian’s hand and examined it, “What happened?”

“It seems that Marinette was adopted by some feral cats. Honestly, we should be thanking them. They probably kept her warm this whole time.”

“You were worried.”

“She was gone for 16 hours, of course I was worried about her. We all were. We even called in her mom for god’s sake.”

“We called in her mom for the party, not because she ran off.” Bruce motioned for him to go inside while he called back the rest of his siblings. Damian went and got the nearest first aid kit he could think of, luckily there were many scattered everywhere due to how rowdy they all got. He braced himself as he dabbed alcohol over the bite marks, not super painful but it definitely stung.

“Need help?” He looked up and saw Tim standing over him, “Here.”

Tim kneeled down and began dressing the wound, “Thanks.”

“Don’t. It’s our fault this happened.” Finishing up, Tim sighed and started putting back all the supplies into the kit. “Damian-”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“And I don’t want to know. Marinette’s arm looks like it’ll get infected if it isn’t looked at. Alfred’s already up there with her and Sabine, but I suggest sending Barbara up there too just to look after her.” Tim bit his lip and nodded, but before he could go and find his sister Damian grabbed his arm. “Tell everyone to apologize to her once she’s ready to hear it. Don’t mention the party or anything, just apologize for freaking her out and leave. I swear if you guys do it and she cries, I will hurt you.”

“You sound concerned.”

“I found her in a cave surrounded by feral cats and barely able to move. Yes, I’m concerned.”

“What?” Tim thought for a moment before shaking his head, “Wait, no. Damian, that’s not what I meant.”

“I already said I don’t want to hear it. I’m mad at all of you right now.” He stood up and started walking to his room, “If anyone needs me, I’m going to go shower and change. Don’t bother me unless it has something to do with Marinette.”

Tim’s shoulders fell and he nodded. He looked himself over and noticed how dirty he got from the search. If this is how dirty he got from a few hours of searching after the storm passed, he could only imagine how bad Marinette must’ve been. “I guess I’ll do the same.”


	6. Warm Blankets

Marinette coughed and blew her nose into her tissue before groaning. Stephanie felt her forehead with the back of her hand, "That's what you get for running away, in the rain, while you were already _getting sick_." She wasn't expecting a response from their patient, she hasn't spoken since Damian found her a few days earlier. 

Sabine hummed and brushed aside some stray strands of hair, "She hasn't really been getting any better. The fever is hardly breaking and she's barely conscious." 

"She has a really bad case of the flu, this is as much as we can do." 

After a moment, Sabine sighed and sat next to her daughter. "I know, but it's always been hard seeing her like this. She's my baby."

Alfred smiled as he placed another cool rag on her forehead. She turned to him, not fully aware of everyone around her, and whined. "This should help with the fever. However, if the chills come back then you should take it off." 

"Alfred, be a dear and give me another towel for her face. She's starting to sweat again." 

"Of course Mrs. Dupain-Cheng." As Alfred left to open the door, he nearly ran into the family's shortest member. His oversized sweater made him look more than suspicious, but his attendance was more than enough to let it slide. Alfred knew he'd figure it out soon enough. "Master Damian? Did you need something?"

Damian opened his mouth, but closed it and shook his head before turning away. Alfred grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the room, "I don't know why you insist on acting so prideful when you are just as worried about her as her mother." 

Damian huffed and straightened out his hoodie, "Hey! Watch it, Alfred!" 

Dryly, Alfred replied, "I'm shaking in my boots." 

Damian rolled his eyes and turned to the three left in the room. Giving an awkward wave, he started to explain his visit. "I wanted to see how she was doing. I got over my cold pretty quickly and thought now I coul-"

"So the boy wonder finally shows up. Looks like you owe me $5, Sabine." 

Sabine simply rolled her eyes and motioned for Damian over to the bedside, "You know, I never got to thank you for finding her." 

"Oh, you don't have to."

"Of course I do. She could've died out there, but you brought her back." 

Damian didn't know how to respond to her. The look she gave him was filled with the warmth and kindness only a doting mother could give. It made him squirm, "How is she?" 

"Honestly, she's not getting any better but we think it might just be the flu." Stephanie nudged him forward, "She's been in and out of it, but you can say hi." 

"Oh, um..." His voice trailed off as he became more aware of the two women watching him intensely. He tried to form a sentence in his mind, instead he snapped at them. "You know I can feel you staring, right!?" 

Before either could defend themselves, another groan from the bed. Damian turned back to Marinette, "Hey. I guess you can hear me." He sat at the edge of the mattress and frowned, "I'm really sorry about everything. I yelled at everyone else on your behalf." 

Marinette turned her head slightly in his direction, but her eyes were still closed and he knew her voice was still gone. "Shouldn't I just let her sleep?" 

"I'd rather she wake up to ask her how she is. Even if she can't talk, I'll figure out. This isn't the first time she's been sick." Sabine waved her hand dismissively, "Besides, from what I hear you two are very close." 

"You need to get your hearing checked." Both women giggled at the boy's embarrassment but he did his best to ignore them. "Last night I went to go look for your cats. I found them. They tried following me all the way back. I named the mom something you'd hate; Goliath. Don't worry, I'm leaving the kittens to you." He sighed, "It took me forever though." The sudden pain near his stomach almost made him flinch, but he quickly disguised it as a yawn. 

Sabine stretched in her chair, "Then it looks like none of us slept well last night. You were out looking for cats. Marinette kept having nightmares and I stayed up with her and Stephanie helped. Thank you again."

"It's no problem and please call me Steph." She yawned and rubbed her eyes, "But she's right. We need to rotate. Who's next?"

Damian shook his head and directed both ladies to the door, "I didn't say I didn't sleep. I said it took me a long time. Alfred should be back soon. Both of you take some time to shower and rest. We can watch her. If you want a female in the room, then I suggest asking Barbara or Cassandra." Both women paused and simply stated at the boy, "What?" 

Stephanie snorted, "God, you're ridiculous." She straightened out her back and grabbed Sabine's arm, "Come on! Nurse Damian's got this."

"At least call me _Doctor_!" 

"_Mother hen_. I can come up with worse." Damian pursed his lips together in a thin line while Sabine watched the two argue in amusement. 

"Alright. Tell Alfred I'll be back in a few hours. I'm going to freshen up and call Tom." 

"Will do. Take as long as you need to." Damian watched the two leave the room, strange and embarrassing looks on their faces as they closed the door. It wasn't until he heard the door click that he pulled out his hidden surprise for Marinette. He brought the black kitten to eye level and glared at it, "Did you really have to scratch me?" The small mewl from the little guy made him roll his eyes, "Sure. Okay. She's not even awake, so you're going ba- Hey!" 

The kitten jumped out of his arms and onto the bed, quickly making it's way to Marinette. "Hey, I said she's not awake! When I let you come with me, it was because I thought she'd be conscious." The kitten pawed at the side of her face and both waited for some kind of reaction. Much to their disappointment, she didn't really register the touch. "See?" 

Damian pulled up a chair and watched as the kitten burrowed it's way into her blankets. He crossed his arms, "Despite the literal scratches covering my arms, I'm glad I gave you that bath. There's no way I'd let you do that if you were still covered in mud." The little creature poked it's head back out and found a comfortable position beside Marinette's arm. Damian reached out and pet the kitten, "If she was awake, she'd no doubt be happy to see you." 

"She might be, but I'm not sure how her mother would feel if she saw a wild cat cuddling next to her sick daughter."

Damian didn't have to look back to know who it was, "I didn't hear you come in."

"Sneaking around seems to be my skill, Master Damian." Alfred walked over and observed the situation, "It seems quite taken with her."

"It was one of the cats I found protecting her in the forest. This one, in particular, took a liking to her. Stubborn thing kept following me." 

"Seems to me that there's more than one dark and stubborn male in the room that is also quite taken with her." Damian groaned and Alfred chuckled, "The rest of the manor thinks it's 'cute'."

"I know." He brushed aside her hair, "She's my first real friend." 

"A very important person in anyone's life."

"It's weird." 

"When you aren't used to affection, I suppose emotional connections would feel that way."

"Alfred, what are we going to do if she's picked?" The absence of a quick and witty retort finally made Damian turn to face the man. "Alfred?"

Alfred shook his head and sighed as he leaned over Marinette, dabbing the beads of sweat forming on her face. "I'm not sure, Master Damian. That has been a very hot topic in this household. Everyone is worried about you two." 

"They don't need to worry about me." 

"Of course we do. We're family." Damian couldn't help but smile at the response, but it soon faded as Alfred continued. "I think the biggest issue is what we'll do of both of you are picked." 

Damian hummed. It's not like he hasn't thought about it before, but a new opinion on the matter was intriguing. "And?" 

He paused before asking, "What will you do if you are both picked?" 

"I'd probably team up with her and we'd make it to the end." 

"But you two aren't from the same district, Master Damian. Even if you did that, one of you would have to perish." 

"I could ask father or mother to alter documents-" 

"Even if that was possible, she would be discovered as a fake by the other Careers. She'd be punished." 

"So what do we do if she's picked?" 

"Here at the manor, we'll do our best to support both of you. However, if it gets to that point, all we can do is watch." Damian nodded, now brainstorming how to solve this latest scenario.

It wasn't fair and that thought made him confused. He's always thought of the games as something so static and final. There were no what-ifs, only a victory to obtain. Now there were obstacles that previously went unnoticed, but now incredibly difficult to ignore. He muttered to the girl in front of him, "You make things so complicated."

Alfred frowned. Watching these two learn and grow from each other was heartwarming to watch, but the games loomed over them like a dark rain cloud. He scoffed, "'May the odds be ever in your favor'. The worst thing this nation ever did was implement those games. Now, it's a shell of what it used to be."

"And what did it used to be?"

Alfred paused before simply stating, "When you thought about the word freedom, you thought about this country. Where anyone could do or be anything. It wasn't perfect, but it was nowhere near as bad as this. It was about democracy and equality. Now, this is about power and greed. Your father has some old books his family smuggled through inspections over the generations you could read if you wanted to learn more. Century-old books so be gentle with them." 

This was entirely new information. They never taught him this, everything he knew about history was about the rebellion and the games. This? This was unheard of. "What was it called before?"

"If I recall correctly, it was the 'United States'. The 'land of the free and home of the brave'. As dumb as it sounds, I do believe it inspired hope in many of its citizens. Before the world ended, that is." 

The boy snorted if only to hide the confusion and churning in his stomach. The foundation of his beliefs all lie within the value of the games. He wondered if he was ready to dive into this, but after looking at Marinette fighting off her fever Damian nodded. "It seems as though I have some light reading to do." 


	7. Traveling Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something to remember is that Panem has only been around for a little over a century. That's only about three or four, at most five generations of a family. It's very possible for things to be passed down in such a short time.

“I think I’m done.”

“Wait, seriously?” Barbara looked up from her book and walked over to the bed. “You’re kidding.”

“No. I told you if you guys were going to make me stay in bed then I might as well get some work done.” She passed her the finished product and Barbara looked it over with awe, “You want to try it on?”

“Can I?”

“I need you to so I can make sure it looks right.” Barbara nodded and looked over to Sabine, “Hey, could you help?”

“Of course.” She gently put the kitten down and walked over to Barbara as she started to undress. Sabine couldn’t help but notice a few scars on her side as she waited for Barbara to get ready. “Where on earth did you get those?”

“Mom-”

“No, no, it’s okay. I got them from the games.”

Sabine gulped as she pushed away thoughts of the upcoming reaping, “I’m sorry for asking. Are you ready?” Barbara nodded as Sabine helped her slip on and zip up the dress.

Sabine stepped back and Barbara slowly turned to face the other two, “So?”

The two looked at each other and grinned, “It looks incredible on you!”

“Sweetheart, you’ve outdone yourself.”

“Wait, where’s a mirror?” Barbara moved towards the vanity and couldn’t help but be amazed. When she commissioned the girl, it’s because she thought it would be something simple. She hated the games, so when she was asked to mentor the next tributes she was conflicted. If she was honest, she didn’t want to do anything but knew she was expected to dress well when attending the televised interviews. She knew if she was given a stylist from the capital that she’d be overdressed in some gaudy outfit, so she looked elsewhere and from the grapevine met Marinette. It’s not that she had low expectations, but the dress was something she wasn’t she was prepared for. Simple, yet elegant and eye-catching. It caught her off guard. “Marinette, this is amazing.”

“You like it?”

“Yes! It’s perfect.”

Marinette threw her fist into the air victoriously and bounced in her seat, disturbing the kitten trying to get comfortable and earning a very annoyed meow. “Sorry, Plagg.”

“I still don’t like the name.”

“Well, now it’s stuck.” She scratched the little guy behind his ear and turned her attention back to Barbara. “I’m really glad you like it.”

Barbara was still admiring herself in the mirror when she nodded, “I love it.” She shook her head and looked back to Sabine, “You should get Bruce. Once he sees this, he’ll pay you triple.”

“What, no-”

“Marinette, I have to agree. This is by far your best work. It’s gorgeous.” Sabine moved some of the supplies off the bed before leaving the room. “I’ll be right back.”

Marinette’s shoulders fell, “You don’t have to.”

“Marinette, money is not an issue here. You deserve it.”

Marinette hummed, wanting to object but they were right. The more she looked at it, the prouder she was of her work. Soon enough, footsteps could be heard coming closer to the room before Stephanie barged through the door. “Where is it!?” The second she saw Barbara, she audibly gasped and squealed, “Oh my god! Barbara!”

“It looks great, right?”

Stephanie nodded and spun Barbara around, “I almost didn’t recognize you.” She turned back to Marinette, “You made this?” Marinette nodded and Stephanie quickly followed up with, “Can you make me one?”

Marinette laughed, “Probably.”

A few knocks at the doorway caught their attention and the three girls saw Bruce, Alfred, and Sabine walk in. Bruce walked over and spun Barbara around, “You look stunning.”

“Bruce, please, we have to give her your car or something. Are you looking at this?” Stephanie made a large and exaggerated motion to Barbara, “That was all _one girl_!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and sighed, “You don’t need to give me anything. You’ve given me more than enough.”

“Then a tip may be in order, Master Bruce.”

Marinette threw her hands up, knowing that whatever she said would be ignored but she wasn’t upset. She was happy it came out so well. Watching everyone fuss over Barbara and her design brought a smile to her face. However, in the back of her mind, she knew the finished dress meant but right now this was an achievement. She got off the bed and stretched, “I’m going to walk around for a bit.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No, I just need to walk around.”

Sabine nodded, “Oh, okay. You have been laying down all day, I guess it’d be good for you.”

“Thanks, mom.” She turned to Plagg and asked, “You coming?” The cat simply made itself comfortable on the pillow and she nodded, “I thought so.” She giggled and made her way out of the room, “I’ll be back in a bit. When you take off the dress, put it back on the mannequin. Mom knows how.” Barbara nodded while Stephanie still fussed over what they’ll do for hair and accessories. Marinette could hear Bruce, Alfred, and Sabine continue to talk about costs and payments as she left the room. Marinette shuffled around the corridors and was about to make her way towards the training area before hearing something fall in the nearby den. The closer she was, the clearer the curses got until she opened the door.

Damian looked up from picking up a large book and some papers off the ground before awkwardly waving, “Hey.”

“Hey. You okay? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, I guess not.” He moved his papers to the desk nearby and sighed, “Sorry. I’ve just been caught up.”

“Caught up in what?” Damian motioned for her to come in and showed her the chaos on her desk. She frowned, “What am I looking at?”

“History.” He grabbed the largest book and opened it up to a map, “Do you know what this is?”

“No.”

“I didn’t either, but this is what used to be here before Panem.”

“Wait, what?” Marinette looked over the map again and shook her head, “What are you-”

“These books are over a century old. This is before Panem even existed.”

“I don’t understand. Why are you looking at this?”

Damian ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head, “I needed to know more. Alfred told me about these old books about the old country that was here and-”

“And?”

Damian paused for a moment as he formulated his thoughts. He didn’t want to tell her this research started because of her, but how else would he explain it? He licked his lips, “Alfred told me about it and said I might want to look into it."

She nodded, not quite believing him but curious about his findings. “And?”

“So a while ago, there was some kind of ‘end of the world’ where the sea levels rose and the landmasses changed shape. I couldn’t figure out when it happened or why, but it was only after this happened that Panam was established. From there we’re told about the rebellions and the games and that brings us to present-day Panem.”

“Okay, but we already knew most of that. I didn’t know about the end of the world stuff but we know about Panem.”

“Yeah, but that’s not the interesting part. The interesting part is everything before the world changed.” He pointed at the map, “This is called the United States of America. This was here before Panem and everything.”

“The United States?” Marinette flipped through the pages of the book and shook her head, “What-”

“It was a democracy.”

“Democracy?”

“Yeah, where everyone voted for their leaders and no one person had all the power. The president had to talk to congress who had to talk to the Supreme Court and it was this huge triangle that people were voted into.”

Marinette smiled at his excitement, “I know to you this is probably super easy, but would it be too much to ask you to dumb it down for me?”

Damian paused and snorted, “I thought you could keep up.”

“Congress, president, court, a triangle of power, something about voting; I’m listening it’s just that I haven’t been cooped up reading about this stuff for days. None of these words mean anything to me.”

Damian chuckled, “Okay, okay. I thought that a week of being sick made you slow.” Marinette smacked his arm and he shrugged, “Just saying!”

“Get on with it. So they had a president, we have one too.”

“It was different. Everything was different.” He picked up an old magazine and started flipping through it, showing Marinette pictures of beaches, wilderness, and amusement parks.

Her eyes lit up as she looked through the photos, “What is this?”

“This used to be America. People still had laws and stuff, but they also had rights. They could do what they wanted because they wouldn’t get whipped. They could say whatever they wanted because they wouldn’t get executed. This? This was freedom.” She grabbed the magazine and despite its thinness the weight of its information made her feel the need to sit down. Damian must’ve seen it on her face because he pulled up a chair for her.

“This looks incredible.”

“It was.” He grabbed another book nearby and began flipping through its pages, “I remember your mom said a long time ago that your dad’s family emigrated from France.”

“Y-Yeah, but-”

“Do you want to see it?” She sat there stunned for a moment, she never knew much about her family’s history. Her grandmother talked about it more; stories passed down from her great grandmother to her grandmother, to her father, and then to her but she could never picture it. It sounded too different from the hell they lived in, but now she had a chance to see it.

She nodded and he flipped to pictures of cities, countrysides, and happy people. The colors, the smiles, the radiance that engulfed the pictures. She felt like she gained a piece of herself she didn’t even know she was missing. Damian pointed at a photo of a triangular tower that had lights all over it, “That’s in Paris. It’s called the Eiffel Tower. People came from all over the world to see it.”

She absent-mindedly wiped her eyes, not realizing they were watery in the first place, and she giggled. “I wish I was there to see it.” She wiped her nose and scoffed, “Oh my god, what’s wrong with me?” She sniffed, “Do you have more?”

“Do you want to see places from your mom’s side of the family?” She nodded and he turned to a section labeled ‘Asia’. “I think your mom said ‘China’, so we’ll look there.”

“What book is this anyway?”

“This one is all about world history, so there’s a lot of pictures and information.” He turned to the chapter specifically on China and grinned as he passed it to her, “I think you’ll like the architecture and the fashion. They used to be very different. from their western counterparts”

“Really?”

“Yeah, look.”

From there, the two lost all sense of time. Behind one door and between the walls of one den, two kids sat there looking through as many different books, magazines, and photographs as they could pick up. Marinette realized this is what kept him from the rest of the family, but also realized she was letting herself fall deep into the research alongside him. The two bounced questions off each other and raced to find the answers within the pages of the literature. They felt as though nothing else mattered but seeing the world that used to be.

Marinette rubbed her eyes after reading what felt like hundreds of pages, “Is this what traveling feels like?”

Damian looked up from his atlas, “Huh?”

“Is this what traveling feels like?”

Damian shrugged and started going through his made-up criteria, “Seeing new places, learning new things, and having fun. Yeah, I guess we’re traveling in our own way.” Damian smiled and slid over another magazine, “You know, there are some more books like this in the library. We could-”

“Marinette?” The two looked over to the jiggling doorknob before it creaked open and Sabine poked her head in, “Marinette?”

“Yes?”

“What happened here?” The two looked around the room and realized it looked like a tornado passed through the den. Papers were scattered, books were opened and placed randomly around the room, and there was no order to be seen anywhere.

The two looked at each other and sheepishly answered, “Uh, reading?”

She rolled her eyes and started picking up books and magazines, “If you want these books to last, you have to take care of them! Now pick them up and-” Her voice trailed off as something on the page caught her eye. “Wait, this is-”

Marinette got up and looked over the page, “It’s called the Eiffel Tower. It was in Par-”

“Paris. I know. Your Father’s family is from Paris.” She put down the other books in her arms and continued to flip through the pages, “How did you find this?”

Damian motioned to the shelves, “We have some really old books, but you’re right. We should start picking this up.” Marinette nodded and continued cleaning where her mother left off. It looked worse than it was, but both were careful as they worked around the woman. Now and again, Marinette or Damian would tap Sabine’s shoulder to see if she was okay. Every time she would just nod and murmur.

It didn’t take long for the two to organize everything, but as they reached for the book Sabine held she quickly pulled it away. “Mom? That’s the last book we need to put away.”

Sabine blinked and looked between the book and her daughter, “Oh! Oh. I’m sorry, I got so caught up in it-”

“Mom, it’s okay.” Sabine looked up and understood why they were gone for so long. She didn’t know how long she would’ve sat there reading if it wasn’t for them snapping her out of it. “What time is it anyway?”

Sabine closed the book and sighed, “It’s late. We need to talk about when we’re going home and the tickets-”

“Wait, you’re going home?” Damian frowned and looked between the two ladies in pure confusion, “But I thought-”

Marinette pursed her lips together and she rubbed her arm, “I finished the dress today. I’m done.” A few moments of silence passed between the two as Marinette placed the book back on the shelves.

Sabine could feel the shift in the air and headed for the door, “I’ll let you two talk.”

Damian didn’t speak until he heard the door shut behind him, “I didn’t realize you were so close to finishing.”

“I’ve been here for a few months working on this commission, it’d be bad if I wasn’t done with it.”

“I know, I just-”

“Forgot?” He nodded and she admitted, “Yeah, I did too.” She leaned against the desk and laughed, “I’m going to miss this place.”

“You can always come back here.”

“No, I don’t think so.” After a short pause, he motioned for her to elaborate. She nodded, “The reaping is in two weeks. Your birthday was right before mine-”

“I hated the party, but I still wished we had more cake.”

“-we’re both 12. We’re both going to get picked for the games-”

“No, we’re not.”

“We are.”

“You’re not. I’ll get picked, but you won’t be.”

“Damian-”

“And it’d be nice to spend time together with someone I don’t find annoying.” She bit her tongue, waiting for him to continue and Damian knew he couldn’t turn back. “When the games are over, I’d like to see you again.”

“Really?”

“You’re the first real friend I’ve ever had and that has to say something. You’re the only person outside this family I will actively try to spend time with.” He ran his fingers through his hair and couldn’t help the warmth in his cheeks, “Once I’m out of that hellhole, I’d like to see you again.”

Marinette bit her lip, “Don’t they put you on a tour? You’ll probably be on tour.”

“I’ll visit your district then.”

“So you’ll see me in district 1 and 5? Do they even let you talk to people?”

“I can ask.”

“And if not?”

“Then, you’ll just have to wait.”

Marinette leaned over the desk and held out her pinky, “Okay. On the off chance I don’t get picked and you win, then I’ll see you.”

“Really?”

“Just make sure everyone knows I was the one who made Barbara’s dress.”

“I’m pretty sure she’d let people know herself.”

“Well, then what’s in it for me?”

“I’m not a good prize?”

Marinette looked him over and gave a so-so motion with her hand, “Meh.”

“Cute.”

“Always.”

Damian shook his head and grabbed her pinky with his own, “I’ll figure out what to give you, but you have to wait for me.”

She smirked, “I hope so or this promise sucks.” Marinette pulled her hand back and walked around the desk before, to his surprise, engulfing him in a hug. Damian didn’t know how to respond at first but she just laughed, “Promise me you’ll make it out, okay?”

He bit his lip and returned her embrace, “I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“If you get picked-”

“Then I want you to keep that promise.” He pulled away and looked her in the eye as she added, “Just make sure you take care of my parents and Plagg, okay?”

“Marinette-”

“If it comes down to the two of us, we both know you’d win. Please, just promise me you’ll make it out and take care of everyone.” After a moment, Damian nodded and Marinette seemed almost relieved. “Thank you.”

Her relief only fed into his anxiety. After everything, she was ready to die and he was raised to do anything to live. Even after all of this research, he still didn’t have an answer for himself or Alfred. That made him feel something he’s never felt before, helplessness.


	8. Reaping

It was an out of body experience. She could see her hand raising up, but it wasn’t a conscious decision. She could feel air fill her lungs before knowing why. She could hear her voice carry through the yelling and crying. She could see her family’s faces pale without looking at the crowd. It felt like a dream, but the reality of the matter was kept by the hushed murmurs of the district.

Marinette briefly wondered how she got herself into this situation and looked back at the day. She woke up after a restless night of sleeping and her mother helped her get ready. Jason, Tim, and Stephanie came to visit as moral support, though now she wished they hadn’t. She introduced them to Alya and her family. Their parents spoke in whispers as they did their best to give each other comfort as they sent in their daughters to the reaping. Alya’s older sister, Nora, recognized the Wayne family and acknowledged each other as previous champions. Tim noted that Nora’s game was the year after Jason’s and both simply nodded.

Before being separated, they were hugged by their families. Stephanie crouched down to the girls’ eye level and did her best to comfort them, “This is your first time being entered in the game. The chances of either of you getting picked are low. Stay calm.” Robotic nods were all she got in response as they left to be herded in with the rest of the district’s youth.

Alya did her best to stay close throughout the finger pricking and ushering, holding onto each other’s arms whenever possible. Standing side by side with the other girls in the district made her feel comfortably insignificant and she used it to crush down the overbearing thoughts of her participating in the upcoming games. The escort reminded her of the first cupcake she ever decorated personified; top-heavy, too much glitter, and cavity-inducing simply by looking it. If the frills represented the frosting, she was waiting for it to fall off. It was childish, but imaging this gave her comfort as they played Panem’s propaganda.

This escape was short-lived as she watched the escort reach into the glass bowl on the women’s side. With bated breath, she could feel fingernails dig into her skin as she unfolded the piece of paper. A bit of feedback dragged the moment for what felt like an eternity until the name rang out through the speaker. “Alya Césaire.” Marinette looked over at her best friend, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as she watched the light die in Alya’s eyes. Alya slowly moved away, doing her best to keep her composure by occupying herself with straightening out her skirt. Marinette couldn’t bring herself to look back at her family, the guilt she felt wouldn’t allow it.

Thoughts in the back of her mind echoed as she continued to feel like something was going terribly wrong. She didn't understand her emotions. She knew she was upset, but it was different. Her heart raced as her thoughts amplified themselves, “_It’s supposed to be you_.” She argued with herself, "_Shouldn't I be relieved?_"

The final straw came when she heard the cries of her twin sisters ringing through the crowd as they tried to run through the peacekeepers to get to their sister. Alya turned back to see Ella and Etta being roughly pushed back and this compelled her to try and help. A peacekeeper quickly grabbed Alya by the waist in a vice grip, leaving the girls to simply cry out to each other. Despite the best efforts of the guards and the family, the three were thrown into hysterics as they desperately tried to get to each other. Logically, she knew this was unnecessary. They would get the chance to say goodbye but seeing Alya struggle and panic made her nauseous. She willed herself to turn back to finally look at the Césaire family and made the mistake of making eye contact with Alya’s mother as she pulled Etta back.

Marlena already had one daughter ripped away from her and she was lucky enough to get her back, but to have it happen a second time was just a cruel trick by whatever god was watching them. The pain and utter helplessness is what prompted her next move. Marinette ran out into the open, arm outstretched, voice booming, and terrified.

“I VOLUNTEER!” The chaos died down in a matter of seconds and she felt a strange sense of delayed relief. “I volunteer as tribute!” The regret set in as she made eye contact with Alya as this directly interfered with their pact to stay together. At least with Alya being picked it was out of their control, but Marinette deliberately was pulling herself away. “Please, put her down.”

The peacekeepers unceremoniously dropped her and Alya immediately darted forward towards Marinette. She jumped into her best friend’s arms and questioned why, but Marinette didn’t know how to answer. Alya was torn out of her grip and Marinette closed her eyes as she ignored Alya’s called for her. She looked at her feet and focused simply on not falling as she walked to the escort’s side.

“Now, let’s give a big round of applause for-“

Despite the bellowing voice she just used minutes ago, her voice came out small and wavering. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

"And who was Alya to you?" 

"My best friend." 

"How sweet! A big round of applause for Marinette!" The applause was short-lived and as fake as the woman’s hair. Marinette refused to look up until the boy’s tribute was chosen. “Lê Chiến Kim.” She watched one of her childhood friends run up on stage, not out of eagerness but out of adrenaline. He did his best to keep a neutral face, but Kim was too expressive. He was in shock. “Please wish luck to District 9’s newest tributes! May the odds be ever in your favor!”

She didn’t even acknowledge their applause, she simply stared at Kim. He was always so cheerful and energetic, seeing him like this was unnatural. She grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze, gaining a surprised but grateful smile as they were pulled off stage to private areas where they could say goodbye to their family.

Being separated was harder than she expected, but she was more worried about her final goodbyes with her family. She closed her eyes when she heard someone enter the room and began apologizing, “I’m sorry! I just-” She didn’t expect to be held so tenderly by her parents. She expected yelling and questions, but not this. She broke into tears and her muffled cries were soaked up by her father’s broad shoulders as the three held each other.

The next group consisted of Alya and her family. She did her best to keep her emotions under control as Alya tackled her friend to the ground, melting in a mix of tears, apologies, and words of thanks. The twins hugged her, tired from the previous scene but still determined to say goodbye. Nora promised to do her best to prepare her as the appointed mentor for their game. The parents were the most tense; Otis couldn’t look at her and focus his attention on the twins while Marlena focused all her attention on her. She cradled Marinette and Alya in her arms and whispered “thank you” many times, doing her best to keep Alya from hearing it. Marinette sent her a broken smile in response.

The final group consisted of Jason, Tim, and Stephanie. She gulped as she prepared herself for the evitable. “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?” There it was.

“Jason-”

“NO! She has been freaking out this whole time about being picked, she doesn’t get picked, and then she _volunteers_ herself?” Jason screamed at nothing in particular and punched a wall, “Fuck!”

Stephanie rushed in to pull Marinette’s attention away and pet her hair, “Don’t listen to him, he’s upset and we’re on edge.”

“She should listen to me!”

“Not when you’re being an asshole!”

Jason growled and pushed Stephanie out of the way, grabbing Marinette by the shoulders and shaking them, “_What were you thinking_?”

“Jason!”

“I wanted to help.” Despite the stutter and hitch, she continued, “I just couldn’t stand there. I felt like I had to do something. Alya couldn’t get picked, Nora was already picked.” She rubbed her eyes as streams flowed down her cheeks, “I had to do something. When her name got called it felt _wrong_. Seeing her family freaking out like that made me sick. Then I saw her mom’s eyes and I couldn’t –“ That was it. The last of her words died in her throat as another crying fit overwhelmed her. Jason’s grip on her loosened and he pulled her into his arms as he did his best to comfort her. Stephanie and Tim just looked at each other, unable to do much of anything as they were reminded of themselves and unable to truly accept her decision. It was haunting.

Her cries died down quickly as Jason continued petting her hair. Tim took the opportunity to distract her with a gift. “Hey, hey, Marinette?” Her red and puffy face almost broke their morale, but he pushed through. “I have this for you.” She looked at the little device in his hand, confused, until he pushed the button and it popped up into her yo-yo. “I found a way to compact it so you can sneak it in with you to the capital. It can be overwhelming so it’s a little piece of home for you.” Before she could say anything, the four could hear peacekeepers marching over to tell them that time was up. She watched as he pushed the center black spot twice and it compacted itself back into a black little device smaller than her palm. She put it in her pocket and she quickly hugged Tim and Stephanie before they were pulled out by the peacekeepers.

Reuniting with Kim and Nora on the train brought little relief as they waved their goodbyes through the windows. The cupcake escort was overly cheerful as she motioned for them to explore and indulge before they get to the capital.

“Let’s make sure we’re in a good mood before we see everyone!”

Easier said than done.


	9. Show Boat

Since being brought to the capital, they were picked at and prodded until they looked 'their best'. They're only official public appearance was during the tribute parade. She almost wished she was back on the train. She remembered feeling so embarrassed after realizing she didn't even notice the other mentor, Jalil, only for him to wave it off due to nerves. She remembered unceremoniously nicknaming their escort Cupcake after a few days because each outfit she wore reminded her of them. She remembered her and Kim asking as many questions as they could think of and staying up late talking. She remembered the false comfort she was given in that short time she was there. Most of all, she remembered their most important piece of advice.

_Likable_; they were told to be likable. Kim came off as eager and spunky, if not a bit obnoxious. Marinette came off as clumsy and kind, but a bit shy at times and naive. The fact that they were childhood friends and were comfortable with each other added to their charm as people in the capital started whispering about puppy love. Both were told to play to it, but both bantered as siblings rather than lovers. She blamed the rumors on Cupcake, but she figured it was a strategic move rather than just trying to gossip.

It was awkward to say the least. She kept her head down and did what she needed to during the whole event, but she knew someone staring at her throughout most of it. She could ignore the crowd, but she couldn't ignore the goosebumps she felt. She was sure she knew who it was and was sure she'd see him during the survival training. The mix of anxiety and excitement threw her for a loop, but she kept it hidden for the most part as she ignored everyone who wasn't Kim, her mentors, and Cupcake. She was on autopilot throughout the parade and the president's speech, only going back on manual when they reached their suite. Kim, unsurprisingly, looked around every nook and cranny while Marinette simply looked out the window in her room. It might not have been the top floor, but being towards the middle still gave her something great to look at.

She wished she had her sketchbook to try and draw some inspiration from it. Instead, she pulled out her yo-yo and absentmindedly played with it while she drew different pieces of clothing in her mind. She did her best to keep her mind from wandering back to her family and friends, but she couldn't help it. Even the dinner, as mouth-watering as it was, didn't bring her any sense of relief from her own mind. The idle conversation left her tired and as soon as returned to her windowsill she fell asleep.

She didn't know for how long she slept, but she figured everyone else was out for the count. She groaned and decided to take a warm shower to help herself unwind. She took her time as she continued to tell herself that she made the right choice. Was this a burden she could've avoided? Yes and one she wanted to avoid. She ran away and nearly gave herself pneumonia because of her fear of coming here, yet she put herself in the situation. She's here because she couldn't watch her best friend be ripped away from her family. She's here because she couldn't watch a mother have another breakdown from having another child was taken away. She's here because she couldn't stand there and do nothing.

As she dried herself off and dressed in fresh sweats before wandering through the apartment. The silence kept her company as she wandered into the first room she entered. Despite its size, it seemed small compared to the manor. She wondered what everyone thought of her once they heard the news. She expected half of them to yell at her like Jason did while the others she could see comforting her like Tim and Stephanie did. She wondered what they were doing now. If she was there, she'd probably be making sweets for everyone. She laughed thinking about her stand-off in the kitchen and sat down at the table, pulling her knees to her chest.

She could hear the elevator being used and wondered if one of the mentors was going to the lobby. She closed her eyes and listened to the elevator going down. “Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…” She waited for it to get to the lobby, but it never went any further than the first floor. Then it started up again, this time going up. She perked up and curiously started counting, One… Two… Three… Four… Five…” It didn’t go any higher. The elevator slowed to a stop at her floor and she stared at its doors in anticipation. She watched the doors open and held her hand up to her eyes after being disarmed by the bright lights within. She rubbed her eyes, but before she could get them to focus she heard footsteps softly coming closer. The elevator doors closed and her eyes adjusted enough to see the figure in front of her.

She frowned and hugged her knees closer, “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Neither are you.”

She snorted, “That’s fair.”

He took the seat beside and the two simply looked at each other for a few moments. He ran his fingers through his hair, “Marinette, what did you do?”

“I had to-”

“No, no you didn’t.”

She bit her lip and nodded, “Yes I did. You didn’t see her face.”

“The girl’s?”

“Her mom’s. She already had a kid taken away for the games, she’s actually my mentor. Doing that again to the same family is just wrong and I couldn’t just stand there and let it happen.” Her shoulders fell, “Is it bad that a part of me wishes I didn’t do that?”

“No.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it, “No, it’s not.”

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her arm, “You’re unusually calm right now. I was expecting yelling.”

“Oh, I’ll yell at you tomorrow during training and I'll put you through absolute hell. Trust me. I’m just trying to keep us from getting caught.”

“I’m not the one breaking the rules.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant.” He frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose, “People around here like to gossip. They’re already spreading rumors about you and your partner.”

“Oh, we know. They told us to use it to our advantage.”

He snorted, “Yeah, he’s not your type.”

That caught her attention. Given the situation, this shouldn't have mattered but she wanted to talk about anything else. “And what is ‘my type’, Damian?”

“You like pretty boys, not jock types. Guys who dress well and are nice to you.”

She blinked and pouted, “Stephanie or Barbara?”

“Stephanie. She wouldn’t shut up about it.”

“Of course.”

He snickered, “You guys just tell people you’re family. It'll still will work to your favor. They just want to be entertained.”

“So we have to entertain them?” He paused before nodding, “I hate this.”

“I know, but you can’t change the past. We just have to focus on surviving.”

“Damian-”

“When I heard the news that you were participating, I got really mad.” She stayed quiet as she waited for him to continue, so he did. “I was mad at you. Mad at my family for not stopping you. Mad at literally everyone. Mostly, I was mad at the capital. You shouldn’t be here, and this wouldn’t exist without them.” He frowned and scooted his chair closer, “I don’t know if I want to be a part of this anymore.”

Marinette watched him as he said every word and noted how tired he looked. She leaned onto him, grateful for the warmth. “You still remember our promise?”

He wrapped his arm around her, “Yeah.”

Despite knowing that they could get into serious trouble if anyone walked in on them, she let herself get comfortable. Marinette hummed and felt calm for the first time since leaving her district. “Good.” 

Damian knew that this was probably the last chance he'd get a private moment with her, but he knew someone would come looking for him sooner or later. He scanned over all the information related to the Hunger Games in his head and couldn't think of a time a tribute was caught sneaking into another district's suite. While alliances between tributes from different districts aren't unheard of, their relationship went farther than any simple alliance. They knew too much about each other, they lived with each other, they've bonded and part of him still fought to reject all of it. She was a liability. The only benefit would be the fact that she had a high probability of being a fan favorite in the capital. His mother 's voice reminded him that he needed to win. Nothing less than perfection and relentless homicide was expected. That part of him wanted to pull away. Damian turned to look at her face, she had her eyes closed and she had a tight frown on her face. The wrinkles around her furrowed brows was a clear give away to her racing mind. She rubbed her head against his shoulder and without thinking he pet her head. Before he could pull away and correct himself he noticed her face lost most of its tension. Seeing her relax some more cleared his head as he decided to continue watching her, letting the soft silence settle around them. It was nearly dawn when either finally decided to move. Knowing that it would cause problems to be seen together this early on, they ran away from the sun as if it was a spotlight threatening to expose everything they built in those few hours. Whatever it was, their silent departure kept it safe for the time being.

After the doors to the elevators closed, Marinette turned the corner out of the kitchen and towards the living room only to see Kim sitting on one of the recliners. Marinette gulped but before she could say anything Kim said, "We're not getting out of this alive, are we?" A few moments passed between them before Marinette shrugged in a feeble attempt to keep a small part of his hope alive. Kim cracked a smile before sighing, "Training is in a few hours, let's get some more sleep in the fancy beds while we still have the chance." Marinette snorted, if only to keep the impending sense of dread at bay, as the clocked ticked beside them. 

It was almost showtime. 


	10. Strained

“How are they holding up?” Dick sat beside the kitchen’s island as Alfred worked around him. Despite not outwardly showing it, he could tell the old man was just as curious as he was. “Barb-”

“Sorry. I had to get from the group for a second.” He could hear her sigh on the other end of the line and she continued, “They’re doing okay.”

“Okay?”

“I mean, word on the street is Damian screamed her ear off the first day of training in front of everyone-”

“Damn it, Damian.”

“-before he started training her and her partner.”

There was a long pause before both he and Alfred responded with a very intellectual, “What?”

“Yeah, I know. The other careers are suspicious as hell.”

“Oh god, he’s starting a scandal.”

“Master Dick, this could work in their favor. People love a good love story.”

“You guys, that’s just the start of it.”

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “What else happened?”

“Turns out Marinette knows other kids here. You ever heard of the name Agreste?”

Dick hummed as he quickly scanned any information that popped up in his head, “He’s a designer, isn’t he?”

“The father is yes. He moved from District 9 to District 8.”

“Okay?”

“Well, his son was reaped and turns out he and Marinette have a history.”

Dick choked on his coffee, “What?”

“Yeah, she didn’t even notice him until he came up to her. She jumped so high, I thought she was going to hit the ceiling!” Barbara snickered and he could hear some normalness return to her voice. She wasn’t a mentor, she was a 26-year-old gossiping about her friend’s crush. It was refreshing to hear. Tension held the manor in a vice grip since the reaping, so he hated to bring it back to the present task at hand.

“What does that mean for the games? How are their chances for survival, Barbara?”

Barbara huffed, “You just have to kill the fun.” She sobered up quickly and regressed back into their informant, “The others look good. Her partner is pretty athletic, but the Careers are particularly brutal this time around. Damian has a chance, but Marinette doesn’t.”

“Don’t say that.”

“No, you don’t understand. She’s making a lot of enemies. The girl Damian came with especially hates her.”

Alfred polished the little knobs around the kitchen and hummed, “Lila Rossi? I don’t remember too much about her.”

“You don’t want to. She’s like a mini-Talia, but all the worst parts of her. After that night Damian snuck out to go see Marinette, she’s-”

“WHAT?” Dick nearly fell out of his chair as Tim and Stephanie both barged into the room and grabbed the phone. Ultimately Stephanie won the little tussle, “He did WHAT?”

“Steph, you’re going to make me deaf.”

“_Barbara_-”

“He snuck into her floor the night after the tributes were paraded around.” Barbara snickered, “He thought he was sneaky, but I knew exactly where he was going. He was tense the whole time leading up to it. He didn’t come back for a long time.”

Tim yanked the phone out of Stephanie’s hand, “Hey, you said something about Lila Rossi?”

“Yeah, she’s determined to make her and Damian the winning team. She’s trying to streamline a romance angle, but-”

“But Marinette’s a threat.” Tim rubbed his eyes and frowned, “Great. Let me guess. If she’s anything like Talia she’s probably manipulating the other Careers and making her own little army.”

“You really love being the smart one, huh? But yeah, she’s insane. Damian saw right through her right away, but these Careers like the idea of hunting Marinette down.” Stephanie flinched when Dick slammed his hand on the table.

The two watched as Dick stomped out of the room. During his games, he had to face a lot, and given his athletic background, he was seen as a threat too. Getting to the final was anything but easy for him. While he healed up pretty well, there was still footage of one of the Careers breaking his leg. While he wasn’t necessarily the doomsday type, the Careers were the sadistic type.

“They’re making a few friends, though. This girl from District 10, Clara Nightingale. Singer type, peppy, good with animals from what I can tell. Something out of a story or something. Kim seems reliable and athletic enough to hold his own, but not too bright and really nice. And Adrien obviously. It’s actually really cute to see Damian acting jealous. I don’t think he knows he’s doing it.”

Stephanie cooed and made kissy faces at the phone, but Tim could tell she was laying it on a bit thick to take her mind off the upsetting information. Tim rolled his eyes and asked, “What is she going to do in front of the panel? Her best combat skills are with the yo-yo and I doubt the capital is going to be okay with her using a toy.”

He could practically see Barbara biting her thumb. The pause was a clear indication that she didn’t really know either. Stephanie tapped her fingernails against the island’s surface as she thought about their options. “Has she gotten any better with the bow?”

“She’s average.”

“I think we’re thinking about this wrong. They don’t just look at combat skills. Remember, I didn’t really have any training but I just started memorizing the plants and did that exercise on the monitor. They counted it. Marinette’s smart and nimble, work with that angle instead.”

Stephanie grinned and Tim took it as a sign that the idea put them on the right track. Barbara’s tone expressed the same gratitude, “That’s actually a great idea. I’ll tell her mentors.”

“Hey Barbara, have you heard from Jason?”

“No. Bruce told me that he went back to his district after saying goodbye to Marinette.”

“Yeah, he did but we were hoping you may have heard something since you’re the only one with any kind of connection to Marinette right now.”

“No, sorry guys.” A bit of murmuring from the other side of the phone and they knew that their time was coming to a close. “Guys, I-”

“We’ll talk to you later Barbara.” Barbara didn’t get the chance the respond before Tim ended the call.

“Tim?”

“Look, we both know that only one of them is making it out of there.”

Stephanie looked away and balled her hands into fists, “I don’t want to have this conversation.”

“We have to figure out who we’re giving what-”

“Tim, we’re going to support them both. Bruce has the money and friends to be sponsors.”

“Stephanie, if Damian makes it out he’s going to be miserable. If Marinette dies he’s going to lose any sense of humanity that killing machine has. If Marinette wins, it’ll break her. You know that.”

“Tim-”

“One of them is going to have to die before the final two to give the other proper incentive without fucking their heads up completely.”

“Timothy Jackson Drake, that is quite enough!” Tim flinched away as Alfred set his rag down and rubbed his temples, “You know you tend to try to bury your emotions in high-stress situations but to dehumanize the kids like that isn’t helping. They aren’t statistics that can be easily manipulated, they’re people.”

Tim growled and threw his hands up, “Don’t you think I know that?! Don’t you think I’ve stayed up every night since the reaping trying to figure out the best way to help them out?! Huh, Alfred? Day and night I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this and the only way either of them is going to be even _remotely_ okay is if-”

Stephanie instantly rose to her feet, dropping the stool behind her and letting the loud crash echo. “TIM JUST STOP! JUST-“ She bit her lip and took a deep breath, “Go to bed, Tim. Just go to bed, okay?”

Tim watched as both stood their ground against him and out of frustration he simply stomped out. Alfred shook his head and said, “I never would’ve thought taking a chance on an amateur designer would lead to this. We’re all going mad.” He looked over and noticed Stephanie nursing a coming migraine as she struggled to keep the tears out of her eyes, “Chamomile, Stephanie?” Her giggle was bitter, but she nodded none the less as she wiped her cheeks. “In a moment.”

Stephanie sat in sweet silence. The manor was filled with heated arguments and panic-filled discussions ever since the reaping. It’s only been a few days, but you’d think weeks have passed by how tired everyone was. She actively avoided Tim’s room as he continued throwing himself into studying the games. Dick was no better. Somewhere along the way, he bonded with Damian. They got extremely close to each other, training all the time together, and Dick was the only one he’d talk exclusively to besides Marinette and Bruce. Hearing Tim’s rants always made him angry leading to a fight or both storming off. Cass seemed to dissociate from it all and return to training with her ax. Bruce offered little help as he pulled his own strings to help in the latter half of the games. And Jason? Well, he left them all to pick up the pieces.

“Why do I get the feeling that this Hunger Game is going to be really had to watch?”

“Because for the first time in a long time, you have a strong connection to the children involved.”

“All because of a stupid dress?”

Alfred set the teacup in front of her, “All because of a stupid dress.”


	11. Scoreboard

Damian paced around the room as his partner simply lounged on the couch. “You’re making me anxious.”

“Then tune me out.”

“I would but your overbearing mother act is getting far too old.”

“I am not an overbearing mother.”

Barbara walked over and pushed Lila’s legs off the couch before plopping down, “Yes you are.” Lila rolled her eyes and begrudgingly sat up. Their escort shuffled in with a few treats in her hands and Damian couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her outfit. “Lilifa-”

“I brought popcorn, sweets, and drinks! Any other requests?”

“Please take off the dress. It’s hurting my eyes.”

Lilifa scoffed and waved her hand dismissively, “Boys never understand fashion.”

Barbara looked around, “Where’s Slade?”

“Slade decided to sit this one out. Party pooper if you ask me.” Lilifa stuffed her face with some treats and hummed, “But the show must go on! Come on! Give me the remote!” She motioned for Barbara to give her the remote, “Come on!” 

Lila grabbed the remote and handed it to Lilifa, “Here.”

“Thank you.” She turned on the TV and there was an unofficial countdown to the scoring of the tributes. Barbara looked back and noticed how Damian tensed when he saw all of their pictures on the screen. One, in particular, made them both uncomfortable. Barbara stood up and walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder and stopping him in his tracks.

“Hey, you okay?”

Damian looked at the couch and noticed how Lila tilted her head towards them and he shook his head, “Never better.”

Barbara looked back and noticed Lila trying to listen in, “Oh. Gotcha.” She motioned for him to follow her to the dining room, much to Lila’s annoyance. “We’ll be back, Lilifa!”

“Hurry, there are only a few minutes left!”

Barbara sent a thumbs up and ushered Damian out. Once they were alone she kneeled down to eye level, “Alright. Talk to me kid.”

“She did badly. I know she did badly. She doesn’t do well under pressure.” Damian crossed his arms and looked at his feet, “I got so caught up in the basic training when I should’ve-”

“Hey, hey, hey! Have some faith in her. She might be a spazz but she’s not hopeless!” She pet his hair and frowned when he didn’t pull back. Normally, he’d push her hand away and scold her. For the first time, she saw the 12-year-old boy underneath the deadly tribute. He was looking for some kind of comfort whether he realized it or not, “C’mon. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“She gets no sponsors and in turn dies.”

“Damian-”

“If she gets a 7 I’ll be fine but I don’t know if she’ll even get that.” Damian rubbed his temples and growled, “I should’ve done more. ”

“Damian, there’s nothing you can do now. All we can do is hope for the best and wait for a score.” Damian frowned and Barbara cupped his cheek, “I’ll help you sneak up tonight. Tomorrow you’ll be going on stage and then… you know.” Damian looked away and Barbara smiled at his flustered expression. She patted his cheek, “Let’s go. We need to see your other competition too.” Damian didn’t even respond, rather he simply walked back to the living room. Barbara watched him and trailed behind as the announcers began their special.

Lilifa and Lila seemed fixated on the TV, but Damian clearly wasn’t as into it as they were. Lila must’ve noticed because she looked bothered. The first district unsurprisingly had high scores. The male tribute, 16, was a 10 and the female, 13, was a 9. Lilifa clapped when they announced the second district, “Oh! Let’s see high scores, everyone!”

Damian turned his attention back to the TV when he heard his name. When the score came back as a 9, Lilifa let out a cheerful cheer, “Lovely! Now Lila!” Lila waved her hand dismissively and wasn’t surprised when her score was 9 as well. “Yes!”

She frowned, “Should’ve been a 10.” Damian hummed, whether dismissively or in agreement was anyone’s guess, but Lila nudged him. “Let’s see what your friends get.”

Damian sent her a quick but effective glare, “Don’t go there.”

“I bet they didn’t get higher than a 6.”

“_Lila_-”

Lilifa hushed the two and motioned to the screen. “Quiet!” Barbara turned her attention back to the TV. The score passed by the screen and she found herself disinterested. District 3’s scores were 8 and 7. District 4’s scores were 7 and 5. District 5’s scored were 5 and 8. District 6’s scores were 7 and 9. District 7’s scores 7 and 4. Barbara noticed Damian sit up for District 8 and realized Adrien was on the screen. His score was 8. She couldn’t gauge Damian’s reaction. He didn’t tense but he wasn’t exactly relaxed either. He probably didn’t know how to respond to the high score. The boy didn’t seem like much, but clearly he was hiding something behind the pretty face. His partner, a redhead with glasses, was a 5.

As soon as they mentioned District 9, the room’s air became stiff and overwhelming. Kim’s score was first and he got a 7, no doubt due to his athletic skills. Then Marinette’s picture filled the screen. Lila, Damian, and Barbara all leaned in while Lilifa remained blissfully unaware as she snacked. It was excruciating but the number finally came up. It was a 6.

Damian cursed under his breath, “Shit.”

“Told you.”

“Damian-”

Damian was quick to respond, “I’m fine.”

The defensive tone must’ve caught her attention because Lilifa finally tore her eyes away from the screen and looked at Damian. “What?”

“Nothing, Lilifa.”

“No, no, no. I know gossip when I hear it.” She scurried over, her dress bouncing as she ran over to the boy, and practically shoved Lila off the couch to take her seat. “C’mon!”

“_Lilifa_!”

“HUSH!” She shoved Lila away and towards the recliner she trained her focus on Damian. His body language told Barbara he was getting uncomfortable and embarrassed, but this could work. He didn’t want her to tell Lilifa about Marinette, now she didn’t have to. “Damian, who is that District 9 girl?”

“District 10’s scored are 6 and 4 by the way!”

Lilifa threw a pillow at the Lila, earning a muffled yelp. Lilifa ignored it, “Damian?”

Damian glared at his escort, “She’s no one.”

“If she’s no one then why are your cheeks getting red?”

Pink dusted his cheeks as he snapped at her, “They are not red!”

“They’re turning pink though. So who is she?”

“Just some girl we know from training.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you’re hiding something.”

Damian looked at Barbara for help but she shrugged. Damian grit his teeth, “I might know her from before-”

Damian flinched as both Lilifa and Lila screeched, “WHAT?”

“And this is why I don’t talk to either of you.”

Lila crossed her arms and yelled at him, “How do you know her?”

Lilifa bounced in her seat and seemed to be having a blast, “Yes, how?”

Damian gulped and looked away, “She worked with Barbara.”

“Is that true?”

Barbara nodded, “Yeah! I hired her to make my dress for tomorrow. She lived with us and-”

“YOU LIVED TOGETHER?!” Damian crawled back and was slowly trying to get off the couch. However, Lilifa sunk her claws further in and she pressed Damian for more information, “So you two were close then?”

“Yes?”

“How close?”

He didn’t like her tone of voice and Barbara noted how his eye twitched, “Look, I don’t know what you’re implying but Marinette-”

“Marinette! Right! Pretty name. What’s she like?”

For the first time in a long time, Damian felt like prey being stalked by a predator. “She’s nice. Simple.” Lila snorted at the statement but quickly covered it up with a cough when she noticed him glaring at her. “She was the first one to welcome me home when I went to my father’s and we were friends.”

“Just friends? Nothing more?”

Barbara sighed, she knew Damian wasn’t exactly emotionally aware enough to go there. At least not yet, “Lilifa-”

Lilifa held her hand up as a sign to stop and continued her interrogation. “Damian, there’s more to your relationship with her. I can tell. I have an eye for this. No use lying or hiding from me because I will find out.” Damian glared at her and she smirked, “Or I can go off of what I know, but then rumors will fly all around and-”

“She’s important to me.” Barbara’s and Lila’s jaws fell open while Lilifa’s grin grew wider.

“Oh? Go on.”

Damian looked away and sighed, “I told her if she wasn’t chosen I’d visit her when we do the victory tour.”

“But now she’s a tribute.”

“Exactly.”

“So now what happens?”

“We fight for our lives.”

Lilifa rolled her eyes, “Obviously, but what will you do? If you see her in the games, what will you do Damian?” Lilifa’s eyes glimmered, she was getting close to something juicy. She could feel it.

However, Barbara felt like they were reaching a line. She didn’t want to see it crossed, “Lilifa, leave him alone. They were close so I doubt he wants to think about it.”

“No, she’s right. What are you going to do?” The four looked back to see Slade standing in the doorway, smoking a cigarette, and wiping down a knife. He walked forward, looking down on Damian the entire time, and asked again. “If you see this girl in the games, what will you do?”

Barbara suppressed a growl forming in her throat. Slade was not particularly fond of Damian. He hated the blatant nepotism that was displayed in the reaping. From what she could gather, while Slade respected Ra’s al Ghul he didn’t like Talia and he especially hated her offspring. He did the bare minimum for Damian and focused more on Lila, leaving Barbara to pick up the pieces. “Damian, you don’t have to answer these people. C’mon, you need to-”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you leaving the floor late that night before the training started. I bet you were going to see her.

Damian narrowed his eyes at the man as he ignored Lilifa’s gasp, “Damian!”

“I’m sure she could get into a lot of trouble for letting you in.”

Damian and Barbara both snapped at him, “You wouldn’t-”

“If he wouldn’t, I would.” They turned their heads to Lila and she scowled, “I don’t like her.”

“Lila, please-”

“So what are you going to do Damian?”

The room was closing in on him and Barbara didn’t want to see Damian’s fight or flight instinct kick in. Barbara pulled Slade’s arm and scolded him, “You guys are being too pushy! Leave him alone!” She hated that he barely budged, but Slade was older. More experienced and more disciplined. He shrugged her off without a care, “Hey! Are you listening?”

Slade finally turned his attention away from Damian and glared at her, “What?”

“I said leave him alone.” Despite his glare, something inside her kicked in. Call it protective instinct over Damian or maybe it was her growing disdain for Slade, but she stood her ground. “Now! Lilifa, give him space.”

“But-”

“Lilifa, I’m not going to ask again.”

“What exactly are you going to do?” His tone was mocking her and she didn’t know how much more she could take. She wouldn’t call herself a hothead, in fact, she seldom lost her temper, but something about the look he gave her made her blood boil. She grabbed a nearby glass and smashed it on the nearby table.

This earned her a great gasp from Lilifa, “That is _mahogany_!”

Barbara promptly ignored her and brought the shard up and pointed it at Slade, “Don’t forget that I’m a winner too.”

Slade smirked, “I see you haven’t changed.” That simple sentence was a low blow and a slap to the face. Her last kill was also with a shard of glass to the other tribute’s throat. She didn’t want it to end like that, but it was life or death. The memory made her falter for a split second, only to compose herself a moment later. “You’re letting this girl get the better of you.”

“She’s a friend of the family. I have a right to be concerned.”

“And that will get Damian killed.” Slade blew smoke into her face, making her cough and her eyes water. “If she’s one of the finalists, it’s her or him.” He took one long drag and blew it out, “I doubt she’ll make it that far though.” He turned his attention back to Damian and held out his knife, “Don’t hesitate. You’re here to kill and make Ra’s proud. That’s it.” Damian hesitantly grabbed the knife and examined it. “If you’re going to show weakness then Ra’s and Talia’s faith is dangerously misplaced.”

Damian tensed when he heard his mother’s name. He respected his grandfather, but Barbara wondered whether fear or contempt was mixed in with his respect for his mother. Barbara turned back to the TV and noticed the discussion of the scores had already started. They missed the rest of the tributes.

Damian finally got off the couch and weighed the knife in his hand. Barbara couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His eyes were distant and his expression revealed nothing to her. He played with the blade a bit as he walked towards the elevator. Lila sat up and questioned him, “And where exactly do you think you’re going? We have to talk about the interviews tomorrow!”

His blunt response caught them off guard, “I’m going up to check on her.”

Slade scowled, “You’re just putting her in more danger.”

Damian shrugged, “She’s in danger, either way, thanks to little miss ‘I don’t trust her’ over there.”

Lila growled and Slade didn’t take the backtalk well. He reached out to grab his arm, but Damian didn’t hesitate to throw the knife back at him. Lilifa screamed as Slade quickly caught the incoming blade mere inches away from hitting the space between his eyes. “Hey-”

“Get a better knife.” Damian hit the call button and waited for the elevator to meet him on the second floor. “I’ll be back later.”

Slade grit his teeth, “And if that hit?”

Damian didn’t answer right away. He waited for the doors to slide open before entering and pressing the "9" button. He looked back at Slade and without a hint of irony in his voice he simply stated, “It would’ve hurt a lot.”

The doors slid to a close and the beeping signaled that he was off. Lila was the first one to break the silence, “Can he do that?”

Barbara did her best to hide the smile forming on her face, “He just did.”

“We should tell someone-”

“And what exactly do you think the capital is going to do to mentors and escorts who fail to keep their tributes in check?” Barbara brushed her clothes off and stretched, “Bring him down and we all go down too. It’s better to just let him have this.”

Lilifa sighed, “I supposed so.” She shrugged, brushing off her part in all of this and playing her role as the ignorant powder puff most escorts were known for. If Barbara was honest, she missed her previous escort from her games. At least she seemed to care. “I have my gossip.” Lilifa smiled and jumped up, “I have to go make some calls! The other girls won’t believe this!”

Lila groaned from the recliner, “I have a headache.” She stretched and got up from her chair, “If he won’t kill her, I will for putting me through this.” She huffed and turned on her heel, strutting away to her room. Slade seemed disinterested in the girl and kept his attention on Barbara.

“That girl’s going to get him killed.”

Barbara took a deep breath and put the shard back on the table, “We’ll see.”


	12. Showtime

Tom and Sabine were grateful to be in Bruce’s manor. Tom heard from Sabine that it was big, but this place could house their whole town if they wanted. Marlena could be heard scolding the twins while Otis chatted with Bruce. Alya seemed to be trying to get as much information out of Bruce’s kids, but he could tell she was also pretty stressed about the upcoming broadcast. Tom looked at the macaroons they just finished and sighed.

“So this is where she gets her talent from.”

Tom jumped and looked over his shoulder to see their butler, “Oh! Alfred. It’s you.”

“You know, Marinette made some macaroons for us one night. That same night, she covered me with the filling and there was a mess.”

“Oh no, I’m so-”

“It was a wonderful night and the pastries were delicious.” He grabbed one for himself and tasted it, “Same taste. Have you been teaching her?”

“We don’t get the chance to do it as often as we’d like, but if we get orders she usually helps us.”

Alfred hummed and grabbed the serving plate, motioning Tom to follow him back into the main room. Tom followed and found Sabine laughing with the blonde girl; if he remembers correctly her name is Stephanie. “Tom made us some snacks for the-“

“Sweet! Food!” Jason pushed Tim’s face out of the way and made a b-line for the macaroons.

“Hey!”

“Shut up, food.”

“Jason, behave! We have guests!”

“Don’t care. Food.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

Jason shoved a macaroon into Stephanie’s mouth, “No, _these_ are unbelievable.”

Stephanie nearly melted, “Oh man, I missed these.”

“Right?”

Alya flailed her arms, “Shut up! Shut up! It’s starting!”

Tom felt a growing pit in his stomach. He knew the significance of the interviews; it was the beginning of the end. Sabine must’ve sensed his growing unease because she walked over and grabbed his arm. How she wasn’t breaking down, he had no clue but if she was going to be strong he had to be too.

The introduction shows footage from previous games as the host spoke to the audience in an overly grand and happy voice. Alya scowled, “I don’t like him.”

“You’ve always been creeped out by him, honey.”

“I know. I don’t like him.”

Caeser Flickerman looked almost plastic. No hair was out of place, his fabric was pristine and perfect, and his smile was too bright. Tom understood Alya’s discomfort. As he introduced the first guest, the families all just made snarky comments on their charisma and look.

“He looks like a fine young man.”

“Mom, he’s probably a killing machine.”

“Alya’s right, district one and two are trained for the games. Kid’s a killing machine.”

“Wow, Jason, way to be comforting.”

“He’s being honest.”

“At least he looks better than the girl. Her eyes scream crazy.”

“How, might I ask, do her eyes scream ‘crazy’, Steph?”

“No, no, she’s right. She has a wild look in her eyes.”

“_Sabine_!”

“Marlena, you know I’m right.”

Marlena grumbled and her twins giggled to their mom’s reaction. Alya snorted, “Tim, you need to get out more. You’ll get it.”

Tim scowled, “I’d rather not meet a ‘crazy eyes’.”

Jason sighed, “I remember my first ‘crazy eyes’. She was insane but she-”

Dick smacked his hand over Jason’s mouth, “Kids, Jason, kids.”

Jason pushed his brother’s hand away, “I was going to say she was badass.” Otis smacked the back of Jason’s head and gestured to his twins. “Right, right, sorry.”

Stephanie took a bite out of her macaroon and pointed at Otis, “You found his off button! Nice!”

“I do believe they’re bringing out District 2 tributes.”

“Oh! I finally get to see what this kid looks like!”

Tim asked, “You mean you don’t know?”

“No! Marinette didn’t tell me how he looked, only about their time together.”

Stephanie sat up, “What’d she say?”

“Steph, be quiet! They’re interviewing already.”

“Eh, they’re doing the girl.”

Dick crossed his arms, “Yeah, but I want to know what she has to say. That girl has been giving Marinette a pretty hard time.”

Alya and Sabine snapped their heads to the screen. Both wore interesting expressions on their face, but both came off as menacing. Alya smiled and looked back at Sabine, “So she’s giving Marinette a hard time?”

Sabine giggled, “Would seem so.”

Tim retreated behind Dick, “God they’re terrifying.”

“Shut up.” He turned up the broadcast and focused on the interview.

“-ou. So, you and your partner are both 12. How does it feel to know that you and your partner are some of the youngest in the group?”

“Honestly, it’s an honor just to be here. Sure, I’m nervous. Still, I just want to make it back home to my family and make my partner proud! We might not be the most experienced, but I know we’ll do our best and make it to the end!”

“What an enthusiastic young girl! Well, we’re going to interview your partner next. From what we hear, he’s a bit of a legacy child.”

“Oh yes, he’s been a wonderful partner and friend so far. I know we’re young, but we can make it!”

“Everyone, give Lila a big round of applause!” The crowd went wild as she stood up and gave a bashful wave to the camera before walking to stand beside the District 1 tributes. “Now, this is a young man I know I’ve been anticipating since _reading his name_! This young man has winning in his _blood_, people! Give it up for Damian Wayne!”

There was a large applause as Damian walked onto the stage. He gave a polite smile and was sharply dressed, but to his siblings, they knew he was out of his element. Caeser shook Damian’s hand and patted his shoulder, “So you, my boy, are a legend when it comes to the gene pool. You have not one, but two winners in your family!”

“Yes, my grandfather is Rah’s Al Gul and my father is Bruce Wayne.”

At the mention of Bruce’s name, many of the females in the audience screamed and cheered. Caeser laughed, “You know that your father was a bit of a fan-favorite among the ladies here in the capitol! Let me tell you, you are his spitting image, isn’t he people!?” The screams were louder and Damian didn’t seem to know exactly how to respond so he just waved. “Oh! Shy Boy, isn’t he? I bet you won’t be shy in the arena. I hear you are quite the fighter.”

“Yes, I’ve been training for as long as I can remember. I want to make my grandfather proud and win for his sake.”

“And your father? From what we hear, you recently reconnected with him. How does he feel?”

Damian pressed his lips together, taking a moment to make a reasonable response before finally saying, “When I reconnected with him, I also got connected to my family. All of them have been preparing me for the games. They don’t want me to get hurt.”

“That’s right! Bruce Wayne takes care of victors who either couldn’t go back to their families or who just needed extra help. So you’ve been training with past victors this whole time? That must give you an edge!”

“I hope so. They didn’t have to teach me anything, but they did. Once out of the arena, I hope to thank them.”

“That’s quite the confident statement there! Well, Damian besides your partner and your family do you have any other motivators?”

Damian licked his lips and did his best to keep his voice steady as he answered, “Yes. I promised someone I’d make it out. I’m not going to take that back.”

Caeser wiggled his brows, “Oh! Taking after your father, aren’t you? I’m going to take a wild guess here as say it’s a girl.”

Damian simply smiled, “Caeser, why do I get the feeling you already know that answer?”

“I might, but you’ll just have to find that out in a bit! Is there anything you’d like to let everyone know?”

Damian looked out at the crowd before settling on the camera. He gulped and said, “Despite my upbringing, I only got more nervous as we got closer to the games. I’ve been having a lot of weird thoughts lately, but I promise that I’ll do my best. I’ll make my family proud of me.”

Caeser grabbed Damian’s hand and shook it, “I do believe you’ll be giving us some memorable moments during this year’s Hunger Games. I know we’re all looking forward to it! Give him some love everyone! Damian Wayne!” Damian got out of his seat, politely bowed, and waved before taking his place next to Lila in the lineup. “Next up-”

“So that was Damian?”

“Apparently, but I’ve never seen him act like that.” Tim looked to Bruce, “What do you make of it?”

Bruce didn’t answer right away, instead, he kept his eyes on the screen trained on Damian whenever possible. Tom and Otis both placed hands on his shoulders and Tom gave a light squeeze, “Are you okay?”

Bruce didn’t say much, only standing up and excusing himself. Tom wanted to follow, but Otis kept him from doing so. “Give him a minute. It’s always hard to watch this.” That didn’t make him feel any better for what was coming next.

Alya hummed and looked back, “Tell me more about him. Marinette didn’t say much, but she seemed to really like him.”

Stephanie looked up at the ceiling and stretched, “Well, he’s totally different than that! He’s rude, standoff-ish, irritable-”

“Don’t forget hard-working and pretty loyal. He’s smart too.” Stephanie looked over to Dick who had slouched over and leaned towards Alya, “Granted when he got here, he was all those things Steph said, but you gotta realize that he didn’t get out much. He didn’t have friends, he had trainers. After a while of being here, he started to show his true colors. He’s not a bad kid.”

Jason nudged Dick, “You’re soft on the demon spawn, you know that right?”

Dick shrugged and looked on the screen, “You can’t tell me you didn’t bond with him either. He’s part of the family.” Jason grumbled and looked away. Dick smiled, “He changed a lot around Marinette though.”

Alya heard the 4th District tributes being announced but turned away at the mention of Marinette’s name. “What do you mean?”

Tim smiled and looked over to Dick, “They followed each other like puppies.”

“Yeah, at first Damian didn’t care for Marinette trying to talk to him but they got close pretty fast.” Jason snorted, “Didn’t Alfred find them awake super late in the kitchen?”

Alfred grabbed his ear and tugged it, “I’m right here, master Jason.”

“R-Right! Sorry.”

Alfred let go, seemingly satisfied with the response before reminiscing. “They were holding each other hostage with macaroon crème filling. It was quite humbling to see master Damian act his age.”

Alya shrugged, “That’s not unusual. Marinette was always good at making friends.”

Sabine laughed and waved her hand dismissively, “Alya, I don’t think this is like making friends with Nino or Kim.”

Alya looked over to Sabine, eyes wide, “No way.”

Tom looked between the two, “What? What do you mean?” The audience applause brought his attention back to the screen to see that they were bringing up District 5 tributes. He didn’t recognize them.

“You’re kidding! She never told me that!” Alya screamed at the sky, causing her sisters to fall back behind an even worse for wear Jason. “IF SHE COMES OUT ALIVE, I’LL KILL HER FOR KEEPING THIS FROM ME!”

Marlena walked over and smacked the back of her daughter’s head, “_Alya_! I am so sorry Sabine! She didn’t-”

Sabine started laughing, “Oh, no! She’s fine! She’s completely justified, but I’d just add that I don’t think they realize it just yet dear!”

“Don’t realize what? What am I missing here?” Tom looked between the two completely lost and let out an exasperated sigh. “Honey, please let me in on this.”

Alya rubbed the back of her head and giggled, “Sorry Mom. Tom, do you remember Adrien?”

Tim asked, “Who’s Adrien?”

Etta poked her head out from behind Jason, “I remember Nino talking about him! Were they friends?”

Alya nodded, “Yup! You guys were pretty young, though. Adrien was a kid who lived in our district until his family moved.” Alya sighed as she thought back to her best friend being so bashful, “Marinette was totally in love with him. Head over heels.”

“Adrien? You mean Adrien Agreste?”

Alya stretched and ignored the 6th District’s introduction. “Yeah.” Alya blew some hair out of her face and thought back to better days, “The four of us would play together and pretend to be superheroes. She was so in love with him, but he just didn’t see it. He was a little boy after all. They don’t care for that stuff so I get it, but back then she was so heartbroken. When he moved, she was crushed and I haven’t seen her like anyone else.”

Dick chuckled, “So Damian is her first crush since Adrien?”

“And from what I saw Marinette was Damian’s first crush ever.” Sabine nudged Marlena and giggled, “But from the looks of it neither have a clue!”

Tom sighed, “Oh no. She was terrible around Adrien. My daughter’s clumsy, but around Adrien you’d think she never learned to walk.”

Stephanie laughed, “She was _that_ bad!”

Alya bit her lip to keep from laughing, “She was worse.”

Tim frowned, “Oh great, if that’s true and he’s in the games then she’s royally screwed.”

Alya looked over at Tim and there was a moment of silence before she threw a nearby pillow at his head, “Don’t jinx it!”

Tim caught it and barked at her, “Don’t throw things in our house!”

Jason threw his own pillow, “Then stop talking shit.”

“Curse.”

“Yeah, kid. I cursed.” Otis grabbed onto his ear and tugged on it, “OW! OW! OW! OKAY! OKAY! STOP!” Otis let go and the twin giggled at Jason’s expense. Bruce came back into the room and took back his seat, “You good there?”

“I’m alright. I apologize-”

“Don’t. We get it.” Otis offered a pitiful smile and Tom stood by in solidarity. It was the first time he’s been around others who understood the conflicting emotions and grief you feel as you see the kids paraded before throwing into a hell game. It was just as refreshing as it was saddening. “District 7 is coming on stage now.”

“It’s all the same. Make the crowd like you, say a sob story, yadda yadda. I hated that part of the games.” Jason scowled and waved his hand dismissively, “It’s super boring and always the same. Seriously, I just wish something new would happen.”

Sabine patted Jason’s head and hummed, “I agree. Year after year, it’s the same old stories. Still, when your child is in the games it’s different.” Jason hummed and continued to allow her to mess with his hair. Tim watched the interaction and was surprised he let her get so close, but both seemed to relax by the interaction. He’s never seen him bond with anyone maternally, nor did he ever really discuss his family. As for Sabine, just based off of Marinette and the few days she was with them, she was physically affectionate. Not being able to hug her daughter, play with her hair, must be killing her. This must’ve been cathartic in a way for them both.

“District 8 is coming on.”

“Oh, so the girl’s name is Sabrina. I was wondering if Adrien’s partner was anyone we knew.” Alya shrugged and grabbed another snack, “Oh man, how Marinette didn’t get fat is beyond me.”

“Alya, you’ll ruin your appetite.”

“Stress eating, mom. Stress eating.”

Etta snickered, “Is that what you’re calling it now?”

Stephanie high fived the little girl, “Nice!”

“Rude. I came here thinking I’d get support and comfort and I’m feeling so attacked right now.”

Tim threw the pillow back at Alya and she let out a small yelp when it hit her head. “Hush, she’s almost done. Adrien should be on soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She grabbed the glass of water Alfred handed her and told him a quick ‘thank you’.

Caeser’s voice got more clear as the room quieted down in anticipation, “-na Rainomprix. Lovely girl, absolutely lovely. Now here comes our new resident pretty boy. You know him, you love him, Adrien Agreste!” As soon as he came out on stage, Alya choked on her water.

“Oh my god, Alya! Are you ok-”

“THAT’S ADRIEN!?” She wiped the corners of her mouth and pointed on screen, “THAT’S _ADRIEN_?!” The boy came out like a dream in a nice suit. Alya wished she could have any contact with her best friend. They needed to talk about this.

Tim narrowed his eyes at Alya, “I’m starting to think you would’ve been just fine in the games.”

Sabine and Tom looked at each other for a moment before Sabine hung her head, “She’s doomed.”

Stephanie cringed, “Oh yeah, no. She’s totally fucked.”

“Steph!”

“Curse.”

“Wait! He might sound terrible! We can save this!”

“-ings you here? As your father’s only child he must’ve been devastated when you were reaped?”

Adrien looked down at his hands rested on his lap before rubbing the back of his neck. Before he could even speak, the gesture had girls screaming. Alya scooted away from the broadcast and looked on in horror, “Never mind. She’s doomed. Oh Marinette, I can’t help you from here.”

Adrien chuckled awkwardly and waved at the audience before responding to Caeser, “It was a big shock to everyone involved. My father was devastated. To be honest, I’m kind of terrified.” He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “I didn’t get out much so I used a lot of the training time to learn some survival skills.”

“But you are good with a sword, right?”

Adrien shrugged and grinned, “That’s true! I do have that going for me! But I’m nothing compared to some of the people here.” He looked back and pointed at Damian, “Damian’s been helping me a bit. I’m really grateful for it.”

“An alliance already?”

“I don’t know if I’d say that, but I’d consider him a friend thus far. It’s honestly great and he’s been so helpful to me and Sabrina.”

“That must make facing him in the games all the more heartbreaking. Speaking of which, I got some inside intel that you have another friend on the inside. Am I right?”

Adrien nodded, “Yeah! She’s the girl from District 9! We knew each other as kids!”

“Woah! She seems special.”

Adrien looked to his lap and shrugged, “She is, but she’s just a friend. Swear.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll get back to that topic later. Any last words?”

Adrien looked to the crowd and saluted, “Cheer me on, okay?” The women went wild as he waved goodbye and took his place in the lineup.

“Adrien Agreste, everyone!”

Stephanie patted Alya’s head, “Oh, she’s so doomed. Boy’s a prince.”

Dick laughed, “From what I hear from Barbara, Marinette is a mess around him.”

“Not exactly helping, Dick.”

“Now for District 9! The next girl is someone I’m sure will give us a memorable interview! The female tribute from District 9, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Marinette bashfully came out on stage in a beautiful dress. It wasn’t over the top like other costumes or dresses worn by some of the audience, it was something no doubt she probably had some hand in. Caeser ran over and grabbed her hand to parade her on stage. She looked completely out of her element. The room was completely silent as they watched Marinette get escorted to her seat.

Sabine hummed, “She’s beautiful but-”

“She’s terrified.” Bruce sighed, “This is her last chance to win over some audience members and gain some Sponsors.” Sabine continued to nervously play with Jason’s hair and the twins finally left his side to go to their sister. It wasn’t much but they owed it to Marinette to watch her interview, she saved their sister after all.

“Wow! Marinette, I hear you’re a designer. This dress isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. Absolutely precious! Am I right?” The audience gave a loud cheer and Marinette seemed to relax a bit. “You must’ve had a hand in designing it.”

“Right! Our stylist was really cool. He let me have tons of input in the design of it!”

“You even designed the dress of District 2’s mentor too! Barbara, stand up! Give us a peek!” The camera panned over to Barbara who stood up and waved at everyone with a shy smile on her face. “Give us a turn, don’t be shy!” Barbara turned around and flaunted the designs well while the crowd showed their admiration.

“That dress looks great on camera.”

“Marinette made that? No wonder she was gone for so long, it looks great.” Alya smiled at her best friend’s handiwork. She always put her heart into the things she creates. She even saw traces of Marinette in the dress she walked out in.

The camera panned back to Marinette started to look more at home now that they were on a topic she knew. “Barbara, you look great!”

“Now you are someone I’ve been _dying_ to talk to! So tell me how you know District 2’s mentor?”

“I honestly don’t know how she found me, but I’m so glad she did! It’s probably my best work ever. I worked on it for months! I wanted to get it perfect.”

Caeser got a weird look in his eye and Dick frowned. He didn’t know what Caeser was up to, but he knew he wasn’t going to like it. Caeser asked, “So, did you work from home?”

“Oh no! I went to Barbara. I wanted to make sure we could talk so I got everything just right.”

“It’s widely known that Barbara is one of the residents of Wayne manor. You lived there for a while?”

Marinette quirked her brow and nodded, “Yes. They were very nice to me.”

“So that must mean you know our dear Damian over there, right?”

Bruce leaned forward and Tim let out an audible, “Uh-oh.”

Marinette must’ve sensed something because her body language suddenly became defensive, “Yes?”

“So not only do you know resident dreamboat Adrien Agreste but you are also involved with Damian Wayne! And closely involved from what I hear.”

Marinette squeaked and her face started to get red, “Wh-What do you mean?”

“Word has it that Damian Wayne snuck out of his suite and away from his mentors just to see you! How scandalous!”

The crowd erupted in gasps and Marinette jumped out of her seat, “Wait! It’s not what it-”

Caeser interrupted her by pointing over at Damian and Adrien, “Love triangle on the rocks people! You heard it here first; star crossed lovers between _THREE DISTRICTS_!” The camera focused on the boys, who had varied expressions on their faces. Adrien seemed surprised but his blush only made him look bashful. Damian, on the other hand, looked completely shocked and furious. “Aw, boys! Don’t be shy!”

“Wa-wait a minute! I never said-”

“So what happened during your midnight rendezvous? You’re so young, I can’t imagine-”

“NOTHING HAPPENED!” The outburst came from both Damian and Marinette. Both seemed mortified at the insinuations being made but Caeser was eating it up. The crowd was going ballistic and demanded answers.

“Oh no, Adrien! You seem to have some competition. Although I’m not surprised, if anyone could compete with you it’s a Wayne!”

Adrien just laughed nervously and looked over at Damian. Adrien seemed to ask some of Damian who suddenly blushed and yelled back at him. Marinette wasn’t fairing much better, “W-Weren’t you supposed to ask me about my interests? My family? My friends?”

“Oh, that’s right! You came here because your best friend was picked! What was her name again?”

Marinette must’ve gotten frustrated because she snapped at Caeser, “**Alya**! Her name is Alya! She’s my best friend in the world and my mentor is her sister! When she was picked, I saw the look on her mom’s face and I knew I couldn’t let that happen to her family again!” She bit her lip and looked down at her skirt as she pondered over her next words.

Marlena felt a wave of guilt wash over her as Marinette continued, “Volunteering was the only thing I could do to get her out of it. I just-” Her voice hitched as she pushed the last of it out, “I’m sorry! It was just so hard, but I couldn’t just sit by and watch my best friend get taken away. She’s always had my back, it was the least I could do.”

The crowd settled into soft ‘Aw’s and other coos as they watched a girl break down on stage. Marinette wiped at her eyes and looked up at Caeser, “Whatever happens, I want her to know that this was my choice. And I’m sorry to my parents, but I had to do this. I would’ve never forgiven myself if I just let her go.” Caeser put his hand over his heart and pulled Marinette into a gentle hug as the crowd cheered them on.

Marinette pulled away and wiped her eyes, “Sorry.”

“Oh, what a dear. Marinette Dupain-Cheng everyone!” Marinette wiped her eyes and waved out at the crowd with a sweet smile.

As she took her place in the tribute line up, Tim was the first to react. “Well, that could’ve gone worse.” Alya’s sniffling caught his attention and she wiped her eyes, “Hey-”

“She’s such an idiot.” Alya wiped her eyes and laughed, “She’s so smart but so dumb.” She looked up at Sabine, “I’m so sorry.”

Sabine wiped away her own tears, “Just like Marinette said, it was her choice.”

Bruce looked up to see Otis comforting Tom. It must be so conflicting; Marinette saved his daughter but at such a high cost. The guilt in Marlena’s eyes was obvious as she excused herself, completely avoiding Sabine as she left the room.

Ella pointed at Kim, “We know him too!”

“Yeah, that’s right. He’s Kim.”

“So we won’t seem him again either?”

Alya flinched, “Ella-”

Stephanie walked over and picked up the young girl, “Hey, you want some more sweets? Or you can try sneaking up on Cass and Duke again. They should be done with their workout.”

Etta groaned, “But they’re impossible!”

“All the more need for practice. C’mon.” Etta sighed and grabbed onto Stephanie’s hand as they walked out of the room.

Alya watched as Stephanie led her sisters out of the room. She looked over at the rest of the group and frowned, “We won’t see any of them ever again, will we?”

Dick licked his lips before saying, “You should go with your sisters.”

It felt like a punch to the gut.

**Author's Note:**

> I will continue this, just not right away and the chapters may not be as long as Seabourne Burnouts. Still I hope to make it just as entertaining. Right now though, some life things came up so it may be a little bit until either gets updated but hopefully no longer than one or two weeks. I love my stories and I am glad others like it too. I read every comment I get and look forward to seeing new ones! Thank you!


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